Lycopodium's (ASX:LYL) stock is up by a considerable 9.7% over the past month. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Lycopodium's ROE.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for Lycopodium

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 Lycopodium is:

40% = AU$51m ÷ AU$127m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every A$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn A$0.40 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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 Lycopodium's Earnings Growth And 40% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that Lycopodium has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 16% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Under the circumstances, Lycopodium's considerable five year net income growth of 34% was to be expected.

We then compared Lycopodium's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 25% in the same 5-year period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Lycopodium fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Lycopodium Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

The high three-year median payout ratio of 68% (implying that it keeps only 32% of profits) for Lycopodium suggests that the company's growth wasn't really hampered despite it returning most of the earnings to its shareholders.

Besides, Lycopodium has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with Lycopodium's performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. You can do your own research on Lycopodium and see how it has performed in the past by looking at this FREE detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

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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.