Could The Market Be Wrong About Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Applied Materials' (NASDAQ:AMAT) recent performance, when its stock has declined 18% over the past three months. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Specifically, we decided to study Applied Materials' ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for Applied Materials

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Applied Materials is:

40% = US$7.5b ÷ US$19b (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2024).

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 $0.40.

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 everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Applied Materials' Earnings Growth And 40% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that Applied Materials has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Probably as a result of this, Applied Materials was able to see a decent net income growth of 20% over the last five years.

We then compared Applied Materials' net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 26% 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. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Has the market priced in the future outlook for AMAT? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Applied Materials Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Applied Materials' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 15% (implying that it retains 85% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Moreover, Applied Materials is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 19% over the next three years. However, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much despite the higher expected payout ratio.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Applied Materials' performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a respectable 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. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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.