Yahoo Finance Glencore plc (LON:GLEN) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financials Look Strong: Should Prospective Shareholders Make The Leap?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Glencore's (LON:GLEN) recent performance, when its stock has declined 13% over the past three months. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. In this article, we decided to focus on Glencore's ROE.
Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
View our latest analysis for Glencore
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
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 Glencore is:
37% = US$17b ÷ US$45b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every £1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn £0.37 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For 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.
Glencore's Earnings Growth And 37% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Glencore has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE is quite impressive. So, the substantial 34% net income growth seen by Glencore over the past five years isn't overly surprising.
We then compared Glencore's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 19% in the same period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for GLEN? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Glencore Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Glencore has a three-year median payout ratio of 33% (where it is retaining 67% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Glencore is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.
Besides, Glencore has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 76% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected increase in the payout ratio explains the expected decline in the company's ROE to 16%, over the same period.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with Glencore's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
