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. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So when we looked at Tanco Holdings Berhad (KLSE:TANCO) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
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 Tanco Holdings Berhad is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.045 = RM20m ÷ (RM535m - RM104m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
Thus, Tanco Holdings Berhad has an ROCE of 4.5%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Industrials industry average of 7.5%.
See our latest analysis for Tanco Holdings Berhad
Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Tanco Holdings Berhad's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of Tanco Holdings Berhad.
The fact that Tanco Holdings Berhad is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. About five years ago the company was generating losses but things have turned around because it's now earning 4.5% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 113% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.
In summary, it's great to see that Tanco Holdings Berhad has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. And a remarkable 5,927% 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.
On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for TANCO on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.