If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd (SHSE:603192) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.036 = CN¥53m ÷ (CN¥2.4b - CN¥930m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd has an ROCE of 3.6%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Chemicals industry average of 5.5%.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

In terms of Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 12% over the last five years. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

Our Take On Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd's ROCE

In summary, we're somewhat concerned by Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd's diminishing returns on increasing amounts of capital. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 16% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

While Shanghai Huide Science & TechnologyLtd 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.