It is hard to get excited after looking at Springsnow Food Group's (SHSE:605567) recent performance, when its stock has declined 17% over the past three months. It is possible that the markets have ignored the company's differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Long-term fundamentals are usually what drive market outcomes, so it's worth paying close attention. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Springsnow Food Group's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

See our latest analysis for Springsnow Food Group

How Is ROE Calculated?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Springsnow Food Group is:

2.0% = CN¥22m ÷ CN¥1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.02.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Springsnow Food Group's Earnings Growth And 2.0% ROE

It is quite clear that Springsnow Food Group's ROE is rather low. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 8.5%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 17% seen by Springsnow Food Group was possibly a result of it having a lower ROE. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For example, the business has allocated capital poorly, or that the company has a very high payout ratio.

However, when we compared Springsnow Food Group's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 7.3% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Springsnow Food Group's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Springsnow Food Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

In spite of a normal three-year median payout ratio of 39% (that is, a retention ratio of 61%), the fact that Springsnow Food Group's earnings have shrunk is quite puzzling. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Only recently, Springsnow Food Group stated paying a dividend. This likely means that the management might have concluded that its shareholders have a strong preference for dividends.

Conclusion

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Springsnow Food Group's performance. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.