Tractor Supply Company's (NASDAQ:TSCO) Recent Stock Performance Looks Decent- Can Strong Fundamentals Be the Reason?

Most readers would already know that Tractor Supply's (NASDAQ:TSCO) stock increased by 3.3% over the past month. Given its impressive performance, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Tractor Supply's ROE today.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Tractor Supply

How Do You 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 Tractor Supply is:

49% = US$1.1b ÷ US$2.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.49 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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.

Tractor Supply's Earnings Growth And 49% ROE

First thing first, we like that Tractor Supply has an impressive ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 19% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. This probably laid the groundwork for Tractor Supply's moderate 13% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then compared Tractor Supply's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 17% 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. Is TSCO fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Tractor Supply Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Tractor Supply has a three-year median payout ratio of 39%, which implies that it retains the remaining 61% 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.

Additionally, Tractor Supply has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. 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 42%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 48%.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Tractor Supply'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. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.