What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So, when we ran our eye over Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd's (SHSE:603326) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd is:

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

0.11 = CN¥163m ÷ (CN¥2.4b - CN¥829m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Thus, Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd has an ROCE of 11%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.4% generated by the Consumer Durables industry.

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 Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd's past further, check out this free graph covering Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd's ROCE Trending?

While the returns on capital are good, they haven't moved much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 11% and the business has deployed 76% more capital into its operations. Since 11% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

Our Take On Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd's ROCE

In the end, Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. Despite the good fundamentals, total returns from the stock have been virtually flat over the last five years. That's why we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the fundamentals are appealing.

One more thing: We've identified 3 warning signs with Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.

While Nanjing OLO Home FurnishingLtd 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.