Yahoo Finance Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In ACI Worldwide, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ACIW) Stock?
ACI Worldwide's (NASDAQ:ACIW) stock is up by a considerable 32% over the past month. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to ACI Worldwide's ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
See our latest analysis for ACI Worldwide
How Is ROE Calculated?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for ACI Worldwide is:
13% = US$161m ÷ US$1.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.13 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.
ACI Worldwide's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
To begin with, ACI Worldwide seems to have a respectable ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This probably goes some way in explaining ACI Worldwide's significant 36% net income growth over the past five years amongst other factors. However, there could also be other drivers behind this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
We then compared ACI Worldwide'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 24% in the same period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. What is ACIW worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether ACIW is currently mispriced by the market.
Is ACI Worldwide Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
ACI Worldwide doesn't pay any dividend to its shareholders, meaning that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This is likely what's driving the high earnings growth number discussed above.
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with ACI Worldwide's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts 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.
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