With its stock down 18% over the past month, it is easy to disregard People.cn (SHSE:603000). But if you pay close attention, you might find that its key financial indicators look quite decent, which could mean that the stock could potentially rise in the long-term given how markets usually reward more resilient long-term fundamentals. Specifically, we decided to study People.cn's ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 People.cn is:

7.6% = CN¥287m ÷ CN¥3.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.08 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company's earnings growth potential. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

People.cn's Earnings Growth And 7.6% ROE

When you first look at it, People.cn's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, the fact that the company's ROE is higher than the average industry ROE of 6.1%, is definitely interesting. Yet, People.cn has posted measly growth of 2.2% over the past five years. Remember, the company's ROE is quite low to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. So that could be one of the factors that are causing earnings growth to stay low.

We then performed a comparison between People.cn's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 2.3% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is People.cn fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is People.cn Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

People.cn has a three-year median payout ratio of 58% (implying that it keeps only 42% of its profits), meaning that it pays out most of its profits to shareholders as dividends, and as a result, the company has seen low earnings growth.

Additionally, People.cn has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that People.cn certainly does have some positive factors to consider. While no doubt its earnings growth is pretty decent, we do feel that the reinvestment rate is pretty low. Meaning, the earnings growth number could have been significantly higher, had the company been retaining more of its profits. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. To know the 1 risk we have identified for People.cn visit our risks dashboard for free.

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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.