ACI Worldwide, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ACIW) Stock Been Rising: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?

ACI Worldwide's (NASDAQ:ACIW) stock is up by 3.0% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term financial health, we decided to study the company’s fundamentals to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to ACI Worldwide's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for ACI Worldwide

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 ACI Worldwide is:

17% = US$227m ÷ US$1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.17 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.

ACI Worldwide's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE

At first glance, ACI Worldwide seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 12%. This probably laid the ground for ACI Worldwide's moderate 17% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing ACI Worldwide's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 20% over the last few years.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is ACIW fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is ACI Worldwide Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

ACI Worldwide doesn't pay any regular dividends currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This definitely contributes to the decent earnings growth number that we discussed above.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with ACI Worldwide's 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 sizeable 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 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.