Are PC Connection, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CNXN) Fundamentals Good Enough to Warrant Buying Given The Stock's Recent Weakness?

It is hard to get excited after looking at PC Connection's (NASDAQ:CNXN) recent performance, when its stock has declined 14% over the past week. However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. In this article, we decided to focus on PC Connection's ROE.

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 PC Connection

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for PC Connection is:

9.6% = US$87m ÷ US$911m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.10 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

A Side By Side comparison of PC Connection's Earnings Growth And 9.6% ROE

At first glance, PC Connection's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, its ROE is similar to the industry average of 10%, so we won't completely dismiss the company. Even so, PC Connection has shown a fairly decent growth in its net income which grew at a rate of 5.9%. Taking into consideration that the ROE is not particularly high, we reckon that there could also be other factors at play which could be influencing the company's growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

As a next step, we compared PC Connection'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 13% in the same period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. Is PC Connection fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is PC Connection Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

PC Connection's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 10% (implying that it retains 90% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Besides, PC Connection has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that PC Connection has some positive attributes. Specifically, its fairly high earnings growth number, which no doubt was backed by the company's high earnings retention. Still, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping a lot of benefit to the investors. The latest industry analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to maintain its current growth rate. 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.