Has ULVAC, Inc.'s (TSE:6728) Impressive Stock Performance Got Anything to Do With Its Fundamentals?

ULVAC's (TSE:6728) stock is up by a considerable 22% over the past three months. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. Particularly, we will be paying attention to ULVAC's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

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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 ULVAC is:

8.0% = JP¥18b ÷ JP¥231b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ¥0.08 in profit.

See our latest analysis for ULVAC

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. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

ULVAC's Earnings Growth And 8.0% ROE

On the face of it, ULVAC's ROE is not much to talk about. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 10%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. ULVAC was still able to see a decent net income growth of 12% over the past five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that ULVAC's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 17% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. If you're wondering about ULVAC's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is ULVAC Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

ULVAC has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 34% (or a retention ratio of 66%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.

Additionally, ULVAC has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like ULVAC has some positive aspects to its business. Specifically, its fairly high earnings growth number, which no doubt was backed by the company's high earnings retention. Still, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping a lot of benefit to the investors. 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.