If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Andon Health's (SZSE:002432) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

What Is 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. To calculate this metric for Andon Health, this is the formula:

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

0.044 = CN¥930m ÷ (CN¥22b - CN¥1.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Andon Health has an ROCE of 4.4%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 8.0%.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Andon Health's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Andon Health, check out these free graphs here.

What Can We Tell From Andon Health's ROCE Trend?

We're delighted to see that Andon Health is reaping rewards from its investments and is now generating some pre-tax profits. About five years ago the company was generating losses but things have turned around because it's now earning 4.4% on its capital. In addition to that, Andon Health is employing 1,274% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, both common traits of a multi-bagger.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 4.9%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. So this improvement in ROCE has come from the business' underlying economics, which is great to see.

The Key Takeaway

Overall, Andon Health gets a big tick from us thanks in most part to the fact that it is now profitable and is reinvesting in its business. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

On a separate note, we've found 4 warning signs for Andon Health you'll probably want to know about.

While Andon Health 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.