If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, from a first glance at China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group (HKG:658) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding 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. The formula for this calculation on China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group is:

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

0.084 = CN¥1.4b ÷ (CN¥36b - CN¥20b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Thus, China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group has an ROCE of 8.4%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 6.2% generated by the Electrical industry, it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group

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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group, check out these free graphs here.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group's historical ROCE trend, it doesn't exactly demand attention. The company has consistently earned 8.4% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 24% in that time. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 55%, which we'd consider pretty high. 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 Key Takeaway

In conclusion, China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 56% 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.

On a final note, we found 3 warning signs for China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group (1 is potentially serious) 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.