To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at China Jushi (SHSE:600176), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 China Jushi:

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

0.082 = CN¥3.1b ÷ (CN¥53b - CN¥15b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, China Jushi has an ROCE of 8.2%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 6.1% generated by the Basic Materials industry, it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for China Jushi

Above you can see how the current ROCE for China Jushi compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering China Jushi here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of China Jushi's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 18%, but since then they've fallen to 8.2%. 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.

On a related note, China Jushi has decreased its current liabilities to 29% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

Our Take On China Jushi's ROCE

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for China Jushi have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was five years ago. In spite of that, the stock has delivered a 26% return to shareholders who held over the last five years. Either way, we aren't huge fans of the current trends and so with that we think you might find better investments elsewhere.

If you want to know some of the risks facing China Jushi we've found 3 warning signs (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.