To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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. So when we looked at JCET Group (SHSE:600584) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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

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. The formula for this calculation on JCET Group is:

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

0.051 = CN¥1.6b ÷ (CN¥43b - CN¥12b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, JCET Group has an ROCE of 5.1%. In absolute terms, that's a low return, but it's much better than the Semiconductor industry average of 4.2%.

Check out our latest analysis for JCET Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for JCET Group 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 report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Does the ROCE Trend For JCET Group Tell Us?

We're glad to see that ROCE is heading in the right direction, even if it is still low at the moment. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 5.1%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 47%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

One more thing to note, JCET Group has decreased current liabilities to 28% of total assets over this period, which effectively reduces the amount of funding from suppliers or short-term creditors. So this improvement in ROCE has come from the business' underlying economics, which is great to see.

In Conclusion...

All in all, it's terrific to see that JCET Group is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has returned a staggering 194% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

One more thing, we've spotted 3 warning signs facing JCET Group that you might find interesting.

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.