What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Ergo, when we looked at the ROCE trends at Aier Eye Hospital Group (SZSE:300015), we liked what we saw.

Understanding 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 Aier Eye Hospital Group:

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

0.20 = CN¥4.8b ÷ (CN¥30b - CN¥6.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Aier Eye Hospital Group has an ROCE of 20%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 11% earned by companies in a similar industry.

In the above chart we have measured Aier Eye Hospital Group's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Aier Eye Hospital Group .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

We'd be pretty happy with returns on capital like Aier Eye Hospital Group. The company has employed 216% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 20%. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. If these trends can continue, it wouldn't surprise us if the company became a multi-bagger.

What We Can Learn From Aier Eye Hospital Group's ROCE

In short, we'd argue Aier Eye Hospital Group has the makings of a multi-bagger since its been able to compound its capital at very profitable rates of return. And the stock has followed suit returning a meaningful 70% to shareholders over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation for 300015 that compares the share price and estimated value.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets 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.