Gatekeeper Systems Inc.'s (CVE:GSI) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financial Prospects Look Decent: Is The Market Wrong?

Gatekeeper Systems (CVE:GSI) has had a rough three months with its share price down 35%. However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. In this article, we decided to focus on Gatekeeper Systems' 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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Gatekeeper Systems

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Gatekeeper Systems is:

1.0% = CA$108k ÷ CA$11m (Based on the trailing twelve months to November 2021).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every CA$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CA$0.01 in profit.

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. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Gatekeeper Systems' Earnings Growth And 1.0% ROE

It is quite clear that Gatekeeper Systems' ROE is rather low. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 13%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. Despite this, surprisingly, Gatekeeper Systems saw an exceptional 39% net income growth over the past five years. Therefore, there could be other reasons behind this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Gatekeeper Systems' growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 12% in the same period, which is great to see.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Gatekeeper Systems is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Gatekeeper Systems Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Gatekeeper Systems 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.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that Gatekeeper Systems has some positive attributes. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Gatekeeper Systems.

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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.