If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Andon Health's (SZSE:002432) returns on capital, so let's have a look.
Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Andon Health is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.02 = CN¥435m ÷ (CN¥24b - CN¥1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
Therefore, Andon Health has an ROCE of 2.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 5.8%.
See our latest analysis for Andon Health
While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how Andon Health has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of Andon Health's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
We're delighted to see that Andon Health is reaping rewards from its investments and is now generating some pre-tax profits. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 2.0% which is a sight for sore eyes. And unsurprisingly, like most companies trying to break into the black, Andon Health is utilizing 1,316% more capital than it was five years ago. We like this trend, because it tells us the company has profitable reinvestment opportunities available to it, and if it continues going forward that can lead to a multi-bagger performance.
To the delight of most shareholders, Andon Health has now broken into profitability. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.
Andon Health does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Andon Health that you might be interested in.
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.
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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.