Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In ABOV Semiconductor Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:102120) Stock?

ABOV Semiconductor's (KOSDAQ:102120) stock is up by a considerable 49% 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to ABOV Semiconductor's ROE today.

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.

See our latest analysis for ABOV Semiconductor

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for ABOV Semiconductor is:

21% = ₩21b ÷ ₩103b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each ₩1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made ₩0.21 in profit.

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.

ABOV Semiconductor's Earnings Growth And 21% ROE

To begin with, ABOV Semiconductor seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 8.5% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This probably laid the ground for ABOV Semiconductor's significant 24% net income growth seen over the past 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.

We then compared ABOV Semiconductor's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 12% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is ABOV Semiconductor fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is ABOV Semiconductor Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

ABOV Semiconductor has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 19%, meaning that it has the remaining 81% left over to reinvest into its business. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.

Moreover, ABOV Semiconductor is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with ABOV Semiconductor's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable 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. 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. To know the 1 risk we have identified for ABOV Semiconductor visit our risks dashboard for free.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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