There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. Although, when we looked at China Everbright Environment Group (HKG:257), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for China Everbright Environment Group, this is the formula:

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

0.062 = HK$9.2b ÷ (HK$186b - HK$36b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

Thus, China Everbright Environment Group has an ROCE of 6.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Commercial Services industry average of 6.7%.

Check out our latest analysis for China Everbright Environment Group

In the above chart we have measured China Everbright Environment Group's 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 China Everbright Environment Group .

How Are Returns Trending?

In terms of China Everbright Environment Group's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 6.2% from 10% five years ago. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line On China Everbright Environment Group's ROCE

In summary, China Everbright Environment Group is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And with the stock having returned a mere 23% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.

If you'd like to know more about China Everbright Environment Group, we've spotted 3 warning signs, and 1 of them is a bit concerning.

While China Everbright Environment Group 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.

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.