If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' (HKG:1919) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings:

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

0.14 = CN¥47b ÷ (CN¥480b - CN¥134b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Shipping industry average of 7.6% it's much better.

In the above chart we have measured COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering COSCO SHIPPING Holdings for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at COSCO SHIPPING Holdings. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 14%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 162% more capital is being employed now too. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at COSCO SHIPPING Holdings thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 28%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. Therefore we can rest assured that the growth in ROCE is a result of the business' fundamental improvements, rather than a cooking class featuring this company's books.

What We Can Learn From COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' ROCE

All in all, it's terrific to see that COSCO SHIPPING Holdings is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings (of which 1 is significant!) that you should know about.

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.