iRay Technology's (SHSE:688301) stock is up by a considerable 38% over the past three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study iRay Technology's ROE in this article.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for iRay Technology

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for iRay Technology is:

17% = CN¥510m ÷ CN¥3.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.17 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don't share these attributes.

iRay Technology's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE

At first glance, iRay Technology seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 12%. This certainly adds some context to iRay Technology's exceptional 47% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that iRay Technology's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 26% in the same period, which is great to see.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is iRay Technology fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is iRay Technology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

iRay Technology's three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 25%, meaning the company retains 75% of its income. So it seems that iRay Technology is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees impressive growth in its earnings (discussed above) and pays a dividend that's well covered.

Along with seeing a growth in earnings, iRay Technology only recently started paying dividends. Its quite possible that the company was looking to impress its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 25%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 19%.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with iRay Technology's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.