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Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock?

Simply Wall St
·3-min read

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 11% over the last 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 Vertex Pharmaceuticals' ROE in this article.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Vertex Pharmaceuticals

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Vertex Pharmaceuticals is:

25% = US$3.3b ÷ US$13b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.25.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Earnings Growth And 25% ROE

First thing first, we like that Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an impressive ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 25% the company's ROE is pretty decent. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the impressive five year 29% net income growth seen by Vertex Pharmaceuticals was probably achieved as a result of the high ROE.

We then performed a comparison between Vertex Pharmaceuticals' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 28% in the same period.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is VRTX fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Given that Vertex Pharmaceuticals doesn't pay any dividend to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Vertex Pharmaceuticals' performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. 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.

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.

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