What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Hyosung Heavy Industries (KRX:298040) 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. To calculate this metric for Hyosung Heavy Industries, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.16 = ₩546b ÷ (₩7.0t - ₩3.5t) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
So, Hyosung Heavy Industries has an ROCE of 16%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Electrical industry average of 9.7% it's much better.
See our latest analysis for Hyosung Heavy Industries
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Hyosung Heavy Industries compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Hyosung Heavy Industries .
Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Hyosung Heavy Industries. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 16%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 72%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.
On a side note, Hyosung Heavy Industries' current liabilities are still rather high at 50% of total assets. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.
A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Hyosung Heavy Industries has. Since the stock has returned a staggering 3,131% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.
Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation for A298040 that compares the share price and estimated value.
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.