Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300226)?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' (SZSE:300226) recent performance, when its stock has declined 20% over the past three months. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. In this article, we decided to focus on Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' 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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings is:

9.6% = CN¥409m ÷ CN¥4.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.10 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' Earnings Growth And 9.6% ROE

On the face of it, Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' ROE is not much to talk about. However, the fact that the its ROE is quite higher to the industry average of 7.4% doesn't go unnoticed by us. This certainly adds some context to Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' moderate 8.7% net income growth seen over the past five years. That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. Therefore, the growth in earnings could also be the result of other factors. For example, it is possible that the broader industry is going through a high growth phase, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

We then performed a comparison between Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 11% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

In Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 11% (or a retention ratio of 89%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that it has been reinvesting a high portion of its profits at a moderate rate of return, resulting in earnings expansion. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.