If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount 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. That's why when we briefly looked at Xtep International Holdings' (HKG:1368) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

What Is 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. The formula for this calculation on Xtep International Holdings is:

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

0.14 = CN¥1.6b ÷ (CN¥18b - CN¥6.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

So, Xtep International Holdings has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Luxury industry average of 12%.

See our latest analysis for Xtep International Holdings

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Xtep International Holdings 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 Xtep International Holdings for free.

What Can We Tell From Xtep International Holdings' ROCE Trend?

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has consistently earned 14% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 57% in that time. Since 14% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

Our Take On Xtep International Holdings' ROCE

In the end, Xtep International Holdings has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. On top of that, the stock has rewarded shareholders with a remarkable 110% return to those who've held 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, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Xtep International Holdings that you might find interesting.

While Xtep International Holdings 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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