Do Its Financials Have Any Role To Play In Driving Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.'s (NYSE:KNX) Stock Up Recently?

Most readers would already be aware that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings' (NYSE:KNX) stock increased significantly by 12% over the past month. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. In this article, we decided to focus on Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings' ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

View our latest analysis for Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings

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 Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings is:

5.3% = US$375m ÷ US$7.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.05 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings' Earnings Growth And 5.3% ROE

On the face of it, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings' ROE is not much to talk about. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 12% either. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings was still able to see a decent net income growth of 11% over the past five years. So, the growth in the company's earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

We then compared Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings' net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 15% 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for KNX? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings' 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.

Moreover, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings 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. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to rise to 14% over the next three years. Regardless, the future ROE for Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings is speculated to rise to 9.1% despite the anticipated increase in the payout ratio. There could probably be other factors that could be driving the future growth in the ROE.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings certainly does have some positive factors to consider. That is, a decent growth in earnings backed by a high rate of reinvestment. However, we do feel that that earnings growth could have been higher if the business were to improve on the low ROE rate. Especially given how the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.