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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Although, when we looked at Johnson Electric Holdings (HKG:179), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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. To calculate this metric for Johnson Electric Holdings, this is the formula:

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

0.037 = US$121m ÷ (US$4.3b - US$1.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Therefore, Johnson Electric Holdings has an ROCE of 3.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Auto Components industry average of 5.3%.

Check out our latest analysis for Johnson Electric Holdings

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Johnson Electric Holdings compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Johnson Electric Holdings Tell Us?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Johnson Electric Holdings doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 9.8% over the last five years. However it looks like Johnson Electric Holdings might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. 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 Johnson Electric Holdings' ROCE

To conclude, we've found that Johnson Electric Holdings is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 59% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. All in all, the inherent trends aren't typical of multi-baggers, so if that's what you're after, we think you might have more luck elsewhere.

Johnson Electric Holdings does have some risks though, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Johnson Electric Holdings that you might be interested in.

While Johnson Electric Holdings 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.