If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So on that note, China United Network Communications (SHSE:600050) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on China United Network Communications is:

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

0.039 = CN¥14b ÷ (CN¥617b - CN¥247b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

Thus, China United Network Communications has an ROCE of 3.9%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Wireless Telecom industry average of 9.4%.

Check out our latest analysis for China United Network Communications

In the above chart we have measured China United Network Communications' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering China United Network Communications here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

We're glad to see that ROCE is heading in the right direction, even if it is still low at the moment. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 3.9%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 37%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

One more thing to note, China United Network Communications has decreased current liabilities to 40% of total assets over this period, which effectively reduces the amount of funding from suppliers or short-term creditors. This tells us that China United Network Communications has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with. Nevertheless, there are some potential risks the company is bearing with current liabilities that high, so just keep that in mind.

The Bottom Line

All in all, it's terrific to see that China United Network Communications is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the total return from the stock has been almost flat over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here if the valuation looks good. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.

One more thing, we've spotted 3 warning signs facing China United Network Communications that you might find interesting.

While China United Network Communications 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.