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. 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So when we looked at Shanghai Belling (SHSE:600171) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

Understanding 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Shanghai Belling:

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

0.034 = CN¥142m ÷ (CN¥4.7b - CN¥569m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Shanghai Belling has an ROCE of 3.4%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 4.2% average generated by the Semiconductor industry.

View our latest analysis for Shanghai Belling

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 Shanghai Belling, check out these free graphs here.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Shanghai Belling 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. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 3.4%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 69%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Shanghai Belling thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

The Bottom Line

All in all, it's terrific to see that Shanghai Belling is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And with a respectable 62% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Shanghai Belling, we've discovered 1 warning sign 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.