Vicor (NASDAQ:VICR) has had a rough week with its share price down 19%. It is possible that the markets have ignored the company's differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Long-term fundamentals are usually what drive market outcomes, so it's worth paying close attention. In this article, we decided to focus on Vicor'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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Vicor

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity 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 Vicor is:

1.1% = US$6.1m ÷ US$570m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

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 $0.01.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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.

Vicor's Earnings Growth And 1.1% ROE

It is hard to argue that Vicor's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even when compared to the industry average of 9.5%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Accordingly, Vicor's low net income growth of 2.2% over the past five years can possibly be explained by the low ROE amongst other factors.

As a next step, we compared Vicor'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 18% in the same period.

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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Vicor fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Vicor Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Vicor doesn't pay any regular dividends currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. However, there's only been very little earnings growth to show for it. So there could be some other explanation in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Conclusion

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Vicor's performance. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. 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.