While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST).
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
See our latest analysis for Post Holdings
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 Post Holdings is:
21% = US$767m ÷ US$3.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.21 in profit.
Does Post Holdings Have A Good ROE?
Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Post Holdings has a better ROE than the average (12%) in the Food industry.
NYSE:POST Return on Equity September 12th 2022
That's clearly a positive. With that said, a high ROE doesn't always indicate high profitability. Aside from changes in net income, a high ROE can also be the outcome of high debt relative to equity, which indicates risk. Our risks dashboardshould have the 3 risks we have identified for Post Holdings.
The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity
Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.
Post Holdings' Debt And Its 21% ROE
Post Holdings clearly uses a high amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.65. There's no doubt its ROE is decent, but the very high debt the company carries is not too exciting to see. Debt does bring extra risk, so it's only really worthwhile when a company generates some decent returns from it.
Summary
Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.
But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to check this FREE visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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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.
雖然一些投資者已經非常精通財務指標(帽子提示),但本文面向的是那些想要了解股本回報率(ROE)及其重要性的人。為了使課程立足於實踐,我們將使用淨資產收益率來更好地理解Post Holdings,Inc.(紐約證券交易所代碼:POST)。
股本回報率(ROE)是對一家公司增值和管理投資者資金的效率的測試。換句話説,這是一個衡量公司股東提供的資本回報率的盈利比率。
查看我們對Post Holdings的最新分析
淨資產收益率是如何計算的?
這個淨資產收益率公式是:
股本回報率=(持續經營的)淨利潤?股東權益
因此,根據上述公式,Post Holdings的淨資產收益率為:
21%=7.67億美元×37億美元(基於截至2022年6月的12個月)。
“回報”指的是企業在過去一年中獲得的收入。另一種想法是,每價值1美元的股本,公司就能夠賺取0.21美元的利潤。
波斯特控股的淨資產收益率高嗎?
可以説,評估公司淨資產收益率最簡單的方法是將其與所在行業的平均水平進行比較。然而,這種方法只是作為一種粗略的檢查,因為在同一行業分類中,公司確實有很大的不同。從下圖可以清楚地看到,Post Holdings的淨資產收益率(ROE)高於食品行業的平均水平(12%)。
紐約證券交易所:公佈2022年9月12日的股本回報率
這顯然是一個積極的因素。話雖如此,高淨資產收益率並不總是意味着高盈利。除了淨利潤的變化外,高淨資產收益率也可能是高負債相對於股本的結果,這表明存在風險。我們的風險儀錶板應該有我們為Post Holdings確定的3個風險。
債務對股本回報率的重要性
公司通常需要投入資金來增加利潤。這些現金可以來自發行股票、留存收益或債務。在前兩種情況下,淨資產收益率將抓住這種資本增長的用途。在後一種情況下,增長所需的債務將提高回報,但不會影響股東權益。因此,債務的使用可以提高淨資產收益率,儘管打個比方説,在暴風雨天氣的情況下會有額外的風險。
Post Holdings的債務及其21%的淨資產收益率
Post Holdings顯然使用了大量債務來提高回報,因為它的債務與股本比率為1.65。毫無疑問,它的淨資產收益率是不錯的,但該公司揹負的非常高的債務並不太令人興奮。債務確實會帶來額外的風險,所以只有當一家公司從債務中獲得一些可觀的回報時,它才是真正值得的。
摘要
股本回報率在比較不同企業的質量時很有用。一家能夠在沒有債務的情況下實現高股本回報率的公司可以被認為是一家高質量的企業。如果兩家公司的淨資產收益率相同,那麼我通常會傾向於債務較少的那一家。
但當一項業務是高質量的時,市場往往會將其抬高到反映這一點的價格。相對於當前價格反映的利潤增長預期,也必須考慮利潤可能增長的速度。因此,你可能想查看分析師對該公司預測的免費可視化。
當然了,如果你把目光投向別處,你可能會發現這是一筆很棒的投資。所以讓我們來看看這個免費有趣的公司名單。
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本文由Simply Wall St.撰寫,具有概括性。我們僅使用不偏不倚的方法提供基於歷史數據和分析師預測的評論,我們的文章並不打算作為財務建議。它不構成買賣任何股票的建議,也沒有考慮你的目標或你的財務狀況。我們的目標是為您帶來由基本面數據驅動的長期重點分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不會將最新的對價格敏感的公司公告或定性材料考慮在內。Simply Wall St.對上述任何一隻股票都沒有持倉。