When researching a stock for investment, what can tell us that the company is in decline? Typically, we'll see the trend of both return on capital employed (ROCE) declining and this usually coincides with a decreasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately this means that the company is earning less per dollar invested and on top of that, it's shrinking its base of capital employed. And from a first read, things don't look too good at Suzhou Anjie Technology (SZSE:002635), so let's see why.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Suzhou Anjie Technology, this is the formula:

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

0.043 = CN¥259m ÷ (CN¥7.5b - CN¥1.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Thus, Suzhou Anjie Technology has an ROCE of 4.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Electrical industry average of 6.3%.

See our latest analysis for Suzhou Anjie Technology

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Suzhou Anjie Technology compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Suzhou Anjie Technology here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Suzhou Anjie Technology Tell Us?

There is reason to be cautious about Suzhou Anjie Technology, given the returns are trending downwards. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 9.8% that they were earning five years ago. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Suzhou Anjie Technology to turn into a multi-bagger.

What We Can Learn From Suzhou Anjie Technology's ROCE

All in all, the lower returns from the same amount of capital employed aren't exactly signs of a compounding machine. Despite the concerning underlying trends, the stock has actually gained 31% over the last five years, so it might be that the investors are expecting the trends to reverse. Regardless, we don't like the trends as they are and if they persist, we think you might find better investments elsewhere.

Suzhou Anjie Technology does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Suzhou Anjie Technology that you might be interested in.

While Suzhou Anjie Technology isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.