What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's 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 CIG ShangHai's (SHSE:603083) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. The formula for this calculation on CIG ShangHai is:

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

0.047 = CN¥118m ÷ (CN¥4.7b - CN¥2.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

So, CIG ShangHai has an ROCE of 4.7%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 5.1%, it's still a low return by itself.

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how CIG ShangHai has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of CIG ShangHai's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For CIG ShangHai Tell Us?

While in absolute terms it isn't a high ROCE, it's promising to see that it has been moving in the right direction. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 4.7%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 113%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at CIG ShangHai thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 47%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. This tells us that CIG ShangHai has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with. However, current liabilities are still at a pretty high level, so just be aware that this can bring with it some risks.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, it's terrific to see that CIG ShangHai 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. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing CIG ShangHai, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.