With its stock down 19% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard WNS (Holdings) (NYSE:WNS). However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Specifically, we decided to study WNS (Holdings)'s 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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

See our latest analysis for WNS (Holdings)

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for WNS (Holdings) is:

16% = US$119m ÷ US$737m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 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 $0.16 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. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

WNS (Holdings)'s Earnings Growth And 16% ROE

To start with, WNS (Holdings)'s ROE looks acceptable. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 20%. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 6.7% seen over the past five years by WNS (Holdings).

We then compared WNS (Holdings)'s net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 11% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. What is WNS worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether WNS is currently mispriced by the market.

Is WNS (Holdings) Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Given that WNS (Holdings) doesn't pay any regular dividends to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with WNS (Holdings)'s performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see a good amount of growth in its earnings. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.