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. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing 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. In light of that, when we looked at SAIC Motor (SHSE:600104) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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 SAIC Motor, this is the formula:

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

0.022 = CN¥10b ÷ (CN¥952b - CN¥493b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, SAIC Motor has an ROCE of 2.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Auto industry average of 3.0%.

Check out our latest analysis for SAIC Motor

In the above chart we have measured SAIC Motor's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for SAIC Motor.

What Can We Tell From SAIC Motor's ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at SAIC Motor, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 8.2% over the last five years. 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.

Another thing to note, SAIC Motor has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 52%. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line On SAIC Motor's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that SAIC Motor is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 31% 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.

If you want to continue researching SAIC Motor, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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.