AB SKF (publ) (STO:SKF B) Stock Is Going Strong But Fundamentals Look Uncertain: What Lies Ahead ?

AB SKF (STO:SKF B) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 14% over the last three months. However, we wonder if the company's inconsistent financials would have any adverse impact on the current share price momentum. Particularly, we will be paying attention to AB SKF'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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

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How To Calculate Return On Equity?

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 AB SKF is:

10% = kr5.8b ÷ kr55b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every SEK1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated SEK0.10 in profit.

See our latest analysis for AB SKF

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. 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.

AB SKF's Earnings Growth And 10% ROE

To begin with, AB SKF seems to have a respectable ROE. Even so, when compared with the average industry ROE of 15%, we aren't very excited. Additionally, the low net income growth of 4.0% seen by AB SKF over the past five years doesn't paint a very bright picture. Not to forget, the company does have a decent ROE to begin with, just that it is lower than the industry average. Hence there might be some other aspects that are keeping growth in earnings low. For example, it could be that the company has a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.

We then compared AB SKF's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 11% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. What is SKF B worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SKF B is currently mispriced by the market.

Is AB SKF Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

AB SKF has a three-year median payout ratio of 55% (implying that it keeps only 45% of its profits), meaning that it pays out most of its profits to shareholders as dividends, and as a result, the company has seen low earnings growth.

In addition, AB SKF has been paying dividends over a period of at least ten years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 45%. Regardless, the future ROE for AB SKF is predicted to rise to 13% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about AB SKF's performance. Specifically, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a respectable rate of return. Investors may have benefitted, had the company been reinvesting more of its earnings. As discussed earlier, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. 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.