Is GS Yuasa Corporation's (TSE:6674) Recent Stock Performance Tethered To Its Strong Fundamentals?

Most readers would already be aware that GS Yuasa's (TSE:6674) stock increased significantly by 23% over the past three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study GS Yuasa's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for GS Yuasa

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 GS Yuasa is:

11% = JP¥41b ÷ JP¥380b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every ¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ¥0.11.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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 GS Yuasa's Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

At first glance, GS Yuasa seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 7.4% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This probably laid the ground for GS Yuasa's moderate 18% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that GS Yuasa's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 13% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 GS Yuasa is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is GS Yuasa Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

GS Yuasa has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 29% (or a retention ratio of 71%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.

Besides, GS Yuasa 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 GS Yuasa's performance has been quite good. 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. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. 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.