Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC)?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Global Industrial's (NYSE:GIC) recent performance, when its stock has declined 14% over the past month. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. In this article, we decided to focus on Global Industrial's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Global Industrial

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 Global Industrial is:

28% = US$71m ÷ US$255m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.28.

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. 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.

Global Industrial's Earnings Growth And 28% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that Global Industrial has a significantly high ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 18% which is quite remarkable. This probably laid the groundwork for Global Industrial's moderate 10.0% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Global Industrial's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 24% over the last few years, which is not something we like 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. What is GIC worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether GIC is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Global Industrial Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Global Industrial has a three-year median payout ratio of 35%, which implies that it retains the remaining 65% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Besides, Global Industrial has been paying dividends over a period of eight years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with Global Industrial's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see a good amount of growth in its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.