Quest Laboratories Limited's (NSE:QUESTLAB) Stock Is Going Strong: Is the Market Following Fundamentals?

Most readers would already be aware that Quest Laboratories' (NSE:QUESTLAB) stock increased significantly by 13% over the past month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Quest Laboratories' 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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

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How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Quest Laboratories is:

17% = ₹136m ÷ ₹818m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every ₹1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ₹0.17.

See our latest analysis for Quest Laboratories

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

Quest Laboratories' Earnings Growth And 17% ROE

To start with, Quest Laboratories' ROE looks acceptable. Especially when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. Probably as a result of this, Quest Laboratories was able to see an impressive net income growth of 37% over the last five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

As a next step, we compared Quest Laboratories' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 12%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. 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 Quest Laboratories is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Quest Laboratories Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Quest Laboratories doesn't pay any regular dividends 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

In total, we are pretty happy with Quest Laboratories' performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Remember, the price of a stock is also dependent on the perceived risk. Therefore investors must keep themselves informed about the risks involved before investing in any company. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Quest Laboratories.

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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.