It is hard to get excited after looking at Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd's (SZSE:002150) recent performance, when its stock has declined 30% over the past three months. It seems that the market might have completely ignored the positive aspects of the company's fundamentals and decided to weigh-in more on the negative aspects. Long-term fundamentals are usually what drive market outcomes, so it's worth paying close attention. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd's 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?

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 Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd is:

5.7% = CN¥103m ÷ CN¥1.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.06.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. 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.

Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd's Earnings Growth And 5.7% ROE

At first glance, Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd's ROE doesn't look very promising. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 11% either. Hence, the flat earnings seen by Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd over the past five years could probably be the result of it having a lower ROE.

We then compared Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd's net income growth with the industry and found that the average industry growth rate was 8.3% in the same 5-year period.

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. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

While the company did pay out a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a regular dividend. We infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd can be open to many interpretations. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Up till now, we've only made a short study of the company's growth data. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment TechnologyLtd's past earnings, as well as revenue and cash flows to get a deeper insight into the company's performance.

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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.