If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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 ran our eye over Sumec's (SHSE:600710) trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Sumec:

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

0.23 = CN¥3.7b ÷ (CN¥57b - CN¥41b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Sumec has an ROCE of 23%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 6.9% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Sumec 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 analyst report for Sumec .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

We'd be pretty happy with returns on capital like Sumec. The company has employed 51% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 23%. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. If these trends can continue, it wouldn't surprise us if the company became a multi-bagger.

Another thing to note, Sumec has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 71%. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

The Bottom Line

In summary, we're delighted to see that Sumec has been compounding returns by reinvesting at consistently high rates of return, as these are common traits of a multi-bagger. In light of this, the stock has only gained 33% over the last five years for shareholders who have owned the stock in this period. That's why it could be worth your time looking into this stock further to discover if it has more traits of a multi-bagger.

Like most companies, Sumec does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

Sumec is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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.