Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. However, after investigating STO ExpressLtd (SZSE:002468), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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 STO ExpressLtd:

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

0.052 = CN¥610m ÷ (CN¥21b - CN¥9.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Thus, STO ExpressLtd has an ROCE of 5.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Logistics industry average of 7.4%.

View our latest analysis for STO ExpressLtd

Above you can see how the current ROCE for STO ExpressLtd compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of STO ExpressLtd's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 28%, but since then they've fallen to 5.2%. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

On a side note, STO ExpressLtd's current liabilities have increased over the last five years to 45% of total assets, effectively distorting the ROCE to some degree. Without this increase, it's likely that ROCE would be even lower than 5.2%. What this means is that in reality, a rather large portion of the business is being funded by the likes of the company's suppliers or short-term creditors, which can bring some risks of its own.

The Bottom Line On STO ExpressLtd's ROCE

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for STO ExpressLtd. These growth trends haven't led to growth returns though, since the stock has fallen 43% over the last five years. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with STO ExpressLtd and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

While STO ExpressLtd isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.