It is hard to get excited after looking at Lear’s (NYSE:LEA) recent performance, when its stock has declined 7.4% over the past week. It is possible that the markets have ignored the company’s differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company’s financials. In this article, we decided to focus on Lear’s ROE.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company’s management is utilizing the company’s capital. Put another way, it reveals the company’s success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
See our latest analysis for Lear
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 Lear is:
4.2% = US$193m ÷ US$4.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2022).
The ‘return’ is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder’s investments, the company generates a profit of $0.04.
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.
Lear’s Earnings Growth And 4.2% ROE
At first glance, Lear’s ROE doesn’t look very promising. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 14%, the company’s ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 33% seen by Lear was probably the result of it having a lower ROE. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company’s earnings prospects. For example, it is possible that the business has allocated capital poorly or that the company has a very high payout ratio.
However, when we compared Lear’s growth with the industry we found that while the company’s earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 12% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.
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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock’s future looks promising or ominous. If you’re wondering about Lear’s’s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Lear Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
In spite of a normal three-year median payout ratio of 29% (that is, a retention ratio of 71%), the fact that Lear’s earnings have shrunk is quite puzzling. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company’s business may be deteriorating.
Additionally, Lear has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company’s management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 15% over the next three years. The fact that the company’s ROE is expected to rise to 19% over the same period is explained by the drop in the payout ratio.
Summary
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Lear. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company’s earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. 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.
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