What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So, when we ran our eye over Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd's (SHSE:603938) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd:

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

0.11 = CN¥295m ÷ (CN¥3.3b - CN¥566m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd has an ROCE of 11%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Chemicals industry average of 5.9% it's much better.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd 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 Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

While the returns on capital are good, they haven't moved much. The company has employed 157% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 11%. 11% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd has consistently earned this amount. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

Another point to note, we noticed the company has increased current liabilities over the last five years. This is intriguing because if current liabilities hadn't increased to 17% of total assets, this reported ROCE would probably be less than11% because total capital employed would be higher.The 11% ROCE could be even lower if current liabilities weren't 17% of total assets, because the the formula would show a larger base of total capital employed. So while current liabilities isn't high right now, keep an eye out in case it increases further, because this can introduce some elements of risk.

The Key Takeaway

To sum it up, Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And the stock has followed suit returning a meaningful 51% to shareholders over the last five years. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

One more thing to note, we've identified 3 warning signs with Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

While Tangshan Sunfar Silicon IndustriesLtd may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.