We Think That There Are More Issues For GABIA (KOSDAQ:079940) Than Just Sluggish Earnings

GABIA, Inc.'s (KOSDAQ:079940) stock showed strength, with investors undeterred by its weak earnings report. While shareholders may be willing to overlook soft profit numbers, we believe that they should also be taking into account some other factors which may be cause for concern.

Check out our latest analysis for GABIA

Examining Cashflow Against GABIA's Earnings

One key financial ratio used to measure how well a company converts its profit to free cash flow (FCF) is the accrual ratio. To get the accrual ratio we first subtract FCF from profit for a period, and then divide that number by the average operating assets for the period. The ratio shows us how much a company's profit exceeds its FCF.

Therefore, it's actually considered a good thing when a company has a negative accrual ratio, but a bad thing if its accrual ratio is positive. While having an accrual ratio above zero is of little concern, we do think it's worth noting when a company has a relatively high accrual ratio. That's because some academic studies have suggested that high accruals ratios tend to lead to lower profit or less profit growth.

Over the twelve months to September 2024, GABIA recorded an accrual ratio of 0.50. Statistically speaking, that's a real negative for future earnings. And indeed, during the period the company didn't produce any free cash flow whatsoever. In the last twelve months it actually had negative free cash flow, with an outflow of ₩121b despite its profit of ₩13.9b, mentioned above. We saw that FCF was ₩13b a year ago though, so GABIA has at least been able to generate positive FCF in the past.

Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of GABIA.

Our Take On GABIA's Profit Performance

As we discussed above, we think GABIA's earnings were not supported by free cash flow, which might concern some investors. For this reason, we think that GABIA's statutory profits may be a bad guide to its underlying earnings power, and might give investors an overly positive impression of the company. Sadly, its EPS was down over the last twelve months. The goal of this article has been to assess how well we can rely on the statutory earnings to reflect the company's potential, but there is plenty more to consider. With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. For example - GABIA has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of GABIA's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.