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. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Dook Media Group (SZSE:301025) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Dook Media Group:

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

0.052 = CN¥33m ÷ (CN¥738m - CN¥96m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Dook Media Group has an ROCE of 5.2%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 4.8%.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Dook Media Group's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating Dook Media Group's past further, check out this free graph covering Dook Media Group's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From Dook Media Group's ROCE Trend?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Dook Media Group doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 16% over the last five years. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

The Key Takeaway

We're a bit apprehensive about Dook Media Group because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Yet despite these concerning fundamentals, the stock has performed strongly with a 14% return over the last year, so investors appear very optimistic. Regardless, we don't feel too comfortable with the fundamentals so we'd be steering clear of this stock for now.

On a final note, we found 5 warning signs for Dook Media Group (3 can't be ignored) you should be aware of.

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.