It is hard to get excited after looking at Ruijie Networks' (SZSE:301165) recent performance, when its stock has declined 23% over the past month. We, however decided to study the company's financials to determine if they have got anything to do with the price decline. Stock prices are usually driven by a company's financial performance over the long term, and therefore we decided to pay more attention to the company's financial performance. In this article, we decided to focus on Ruijie Networks' ROE.

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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

View our latest analysis for Ruijie Networks

How Is ROE Calculated?

ROE 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 Ruijie Networks is:

7.6% = CN¥314m ÷ CN¥4.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.08 in profit.

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.

A Side By Side comparison of Ruijie Networks' Earnings Growth And 7.6% ROE

On the face of it, Ruijie Networks' ROE is not much to talk about. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 6.7%. On the other hand, Ruijie Networks reported a moderate 7.0% net income growth over the past five years. Taking into consideration that the ROE is not particularly high, we reckon that there could also be other factors at play which could be influencing the company's growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Ruijie Networks' reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 13% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Ruijie Networks fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Ruijie Networks Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

The high three-year median payout ratio of 88% (or a retention ratio of 12%) for Ruijie Networks suggests that the company's growth wasn't really hampered despite it returning most of its income to its shareholders.

While Ruijie Networks has been growing its earnings, it only recently started to pay dividends which likely means that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 26% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected drop in the payout ratio explains the expected increase in the company's ROE to 18%, over the same period.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Ruijie Networks can be open to many interpretations. While no doubt its earnings growth is pretty respectable, the low profit retention could mean that the company's earnings growth could have been higher, had it been paying reinvesting a higher portion of its profits. An improvement in its ROE could also help future earnings growth. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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.