PDD Holdings (NASDAQ:PDD) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 18% over the last 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 PDD Holdings' ROE.

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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for PDD Holdings

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 PDD Holdings is:

39% = CN¥108b ÷ CN¥279b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.39 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. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

A Side By Side comparison of PDD Holdings' Earnings Growth And 39% ROE

To begin with, PDD Holdings has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 23% which is quite remarkable. As a result, PDD Holdings' exceptional 73% net income growth seen over the past five years, doesn't come as a surprise.

As a next step, we compared PDD Holdings' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 23%.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is PDD Holdings fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is PDD Holdings Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Given that PDD 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

Overall, we are quite pleased with PDD Holdings' 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 substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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