Yahoo Finance Will Weakness in iRobot Corporation's (NASDAQ:IRBT) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?
It is hard to get excited after looking at iRobot's (NASDAQ:IRBT) recent performance, when its stock has declined 8.4% 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 iRobot's 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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
View our latest analysis for iRobot
How Is ROE Calculated?
Return on equity 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 iRobot is:
14% = US$111m ÷ US$781m (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2021).
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 $0.14 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. 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 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.
iRobot's Earnings Growth And 14% ROE
To start with, iRobot's ROE looks acceptable. Even so, when compared with the average industry ROE of 19%, we aren't very excited. That being the case, the significant five-year 25% net income growth reported by iRobot comes as a pleasant surprise. We believe that there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place. Bear in mind, the company does have a respectable ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is higher. So this also does lend some color to the high earnings growth seen by the company.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that iRobot's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 16% in the same period, which is great to see.
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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. What is IRBT worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether IRBT is currently mispriced by the market.
Is iRobot Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Given that iRobot 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
Overall, we are quite pleased with iRobot's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business at a moderate rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. The latest industry analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to maintain its current growth rate. 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.
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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