SG Micro Corp's (SZSE:300661) Stock Has Fared Decently: Is the Market Following Strong Financials?

SG Micro's (SZSE:300661) stock up by 7.2% over the past 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 SG Micro's ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

See our latest analysis for SG Micro

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 SG Micro is:

9.6% = CN¥411m ÷ CN¥4.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. 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. 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 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 SG Micro's Earnings Growth And 9.6% ROE

On the face of it, SG Micro's ROE is not much to talk about. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 7.0% which we definitely can't overlook. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 11% seen over the past five years by SG Micro. Bear in mind, the company does have a moderately low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. Hence there might be some other aspects that are causing earnings to grow. E.g the company has a low payout ratio or could belong to a high growth industry.

We then performed a comparison between SG Micro's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 12% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is SG Micro fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is SG Micro Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

In SG Micro's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 15% (or a retention ratio of 85%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Moreover, SG Micro is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of seven years of paying a dividend. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 25% over the next three years. However, SG Micro's future ROE is expected to rise to 16% despite the expected increase in the company's payout ratio. We infer that there could be other factors that could be driving the anticipated growth in the company's ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with SG Micro's performance. Specifically, we like that it has been reinvesting a high portion of its profits at a moderate rate of return, resulting in earnings expansion. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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.