What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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 on that note, Tianli International Holdings (HKG:1773) 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. To calculate this metric for Tianli International Holdings, this is the formula:

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

0.14 = CN¥791m ÷ (CN¥10b - CN¥4.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2024).

Thus, Tianli International Holdings has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Consumer Services industry average of 11% it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for Tianli International Holdings

In the above chart we have measured Tianli International Holdings' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Tianli International Holdings .

The Trend Of ROCE

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Tianli International Holdings. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 14%. 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 68%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Tianli International Holdings thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 46% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. Given it's pretty high ratio, we'd remind investors that having current liabilities at those levels can bring about some risks in certain businesses.

In Conclusion...

All in all, it's terrific to see that Tianli International Holdings is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has only returned 37% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for 1773 on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.