To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Although, when we looked at Ningbo Exciton Technology (SZSE:300566), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Ningbo Exciton Technology:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.047 = CN¥102m ÷ (CN¥3.9b - CN¥1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Ningbo Exciton Technology has an ROCE of 4.7%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Chemicals industry average of 6.0%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ningbo Exciton Technology compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Ningbo Exciton Technology .

The Trend Of ROCE

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Ningbo Exciton Technology, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 8.9% over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a related note, Ningbo Exciton Technology has decreased its current liabilities to 44% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE. Keep in mind 44% is still pretty high, so those risks are still somewhat prevalent.

The Key Takeaway

To conclude, we've found that Ningbo Exciton Technology is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 8.3% to shareholders over the last five years. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Ningbo Exciton Technology that we think you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.