Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About Commerce One Holdings Inc. (TSE:4496)?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Commerce One Holdings' (TSE:4496) recent performance, when its stock has declined 24% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Commerce One Holdings' ROE today.

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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for Commerce One Holdings

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 Commerce One Holdings is:

15% = JP¥414m ÷ JP¥2.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 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 ¥0.15.

Why Is ROE Important For 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.

Commerce One Holdings' Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

To begin with, Commerce One Holdings seems to have a respectable ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 7.0% seen over the past five years by Commerce One Holdings.

As a next step, we compared Commerce One Holdings' net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 11% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Commerce One Holdings fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Commerce One Holdings Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Commerce One Holdings' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 12% (implying that it retains 88% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Along with seeing a growth in earnings, Commerce One Holdings only recently started paying dividends. Its quite possible that the company was looking to impress its shareholders.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Commerce One Holdings' performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. 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. Let's not forget, business risk is also one of the factors that affects the price of the stock. So this is also an important area that investors need to pay attention to before making a decision on any business. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for Commerce One Holdings by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com