It is hard to get excited after looking at Winnebago Industries' (NYSE:WGO) recent performance, when its stock has declined 17% over the past month. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company's financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Winnebago Industries' 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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Winnebago Industries is:

8.8% = US$116m ÷ US$1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2024).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.09 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

Winnebago Industries' Earnings Growth And 8.8% ROE

When you first look at it, Winnebago Industries' ROE doesn't look that attractive. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 19%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. In spite of this, Winnebago Industries was able to grow its net income considerably, at a rate of 20% in the last five years. So, there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then performed a comparison between Winnebago Industries' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 22% in the same 5-year period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Has the market priced in the future outlook for WGO? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Winnebago Industries Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Winnebago Industries' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 7.3%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 93% of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.

Moreover, Winnebago Industries is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 14% over the next three years. However, Winnebago Industries' future ROE is expected to rise to 18% despite the expected increase in the company's payout ratio. We infer that there could be other factors that could be driving the anticipated growth in the company's ROE.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Winnebago Industries has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. 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.