What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, from a first glance at ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology (SZSE:300854) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology:

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

0.043 = CN¥43m ÷ (CN¥1.6b - CN¥583m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology has an ROCE of 4.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Commercial Services industry average of 5.4%.

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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology, check out these free graphs here.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

When we looked at the ROCE trend at ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 15% 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.

The Bottom Line On ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology's ROCE

In summary, ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 27% in the last year. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing: We've identified 3 warning signs with ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology (at least 1 which is a bit concerning) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.

While ShenZhen GAD Environmental Technology may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.