HannStar Display Corporation (TPE:6116) Stock Is Going Strong But Fundamentals Look Uncertain: What Lies Ahead ?

HannStar Display (TPE:6116) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 36% over the last three months. But the company's key financial indicators appear to be differing across the board and that makes us question whether or not the company's current share price momentum can be maintained. Specifically, we decided to study HannStar Display's ROE in this article.

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

Check out our latest analysis for HannStar Display

How Do You 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 HannStar Display is:

2.6% = NT$1.0b ÷ NT$41b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every NT$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated NT$0.03 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

HannStar Display's Earnings Growth And 2.6% ROE

As you can see, HannStar Display's ROE looks pretty weak. Even when compared to the industry average of 9.9%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Therefore, the disappointing ROE therefore provides a background to HannStar Display's very little net income growth of 5.0% over the past five years.

As a next step, we compared HannStar Display's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 9.2% 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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if HannStar Display is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is HannStar Display Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

While the company did pay out a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. We infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by HannStar Display can be open to many interpretations. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. To know the 1 risk we have identified for HannStar Display 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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