Thinking Electronic Industrial (TPE:2428) Is Very Good At Capital Allocation

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Thinking Electronic Industrial's (TPE:2428) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Thinking Electronic Industrial:

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

0.21 = NT$1.7b ÷ (NT$10b - NT$2.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

So, Thinking Electronic Industrial has an ROCE of 21%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 11% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for Thinking Electronic Industrial

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Thinking Electronic Industrial's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Thinking Electronic Industrial, check out these free graphs here.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Thinking Electronic Industrial. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 21%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 57%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

What We Can Learn From Thinking Electronic Industrial's ROCE

To sum it up, Thinking Electronic Industrial has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And a remarkable 334% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Thinking Electronic Industrial that you might find interesting.

Thinking Electronic Industrial is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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