To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at COSCO SHIPPING Holdings (HKG:1919) so let's look a bit deeper.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings:

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

0.073 = CN¥25b ÷ (CN¥467b - CN¥123b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Thus, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings has an ROCE of 7.3%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 7.1%, it's still a low return by itself.

View our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings

In the above chart we have measured COSCO SHIPPING 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 COSCO SHIPPING Holdings .

So How Is COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' ROCE Trending?

While in absolute terms it isn't a high ROCE, it's promising to see that it has been moving in the right direction. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 7.3%. 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 94%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

Our Take On COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that COSCO SHIPPING Holdings can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

If you'd like to know more about COSCO SHIPPING Holdings, we've spotted 3 warning signs, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.