Guideline Geo AB (publ)'s (STO:GGEO) Stock On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Momentum?

Guideline Geo's (STO:GGEO) stock is up by a considerable 38% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Guideline Geo's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Guideline Geo

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity 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 Guideline Geo is:

1.6% = kr1.8m ÷ kr112m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every SEK1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn SEK0.02 in profit.

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. 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. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Guideline Geo's Earnings Growth And 1.6% ROE

It is quite clear that Guideline Geo's ROE is rather low. Even when compared to the industry average of 11%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Despite this, surprisingly, Guideline Geo saw an exceptional 47% net income growth over the past five years. We believe that there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Guideline Geo's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 10% in the same period, which is great 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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Guideline Geo's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Guideline Geo Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Given that Guideline Geo doesn't pay any dividend to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Summary

In total, it does look like Guideline Geo has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for Guideline Geo.

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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.