Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Is Going Strong But Fundamentals Appear To Be Mixed : Is There A Clear Direction For The Stock?

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 22% over the last three months. However, we wonder if the company's inconsistent financials would have any adverse impact on the current share price momentum. Specifically, we decided to study Plexus' ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

View our latest analysis for Plexus

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 Plexus is:

8.8% = US$111m ÷ US$1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.09 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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 Plexus' Earnings Growth And 8.8% ROE

When you first look at it, Plexus' ROE doesn't look that attractive. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 10%. However, Plexus has seen a flattish net income growth over the past five years, which is not saying much. Remember, the company's ROE is not particularly great to begin with. Hence, this provides some context to the flat earnings growth seen by the company.

As a next step, we compared Plexus' net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 14% in the same period.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Plexus fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Plexus Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Plexus doesn't pay any regular dividends, meaning that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business. However, this doesn't explain why the company hasn't seen any growth. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Plexus can be open to many interpretations. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. 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.