Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. 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 investigating AUPU Home Style (SHSE:603551), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

What Is 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 AUPU Home Style, this is the formula:

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

0.19 = CN¥301m ÷ (CN¥2.4b - CN¥776m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, AUPU Home Style has an ROCE of 19%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Consumer Durables industry average of 8.2% it's much better.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for AUPU Home Style compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for AUPU Home Style.

What Does the ROCE Trend For AUPU Home Style Tell Us?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at AUPU Home Style, we didn't gain much confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 32%, but since then they've fallen to 19%. 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's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

The Bottom Line On AUPU Home Style's ROCE

In summary, AUPU Home Style is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And in the last three years, the stock has given away 16% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing AUPU Home Style, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

While AUPU Home Style 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.