It is hard to get excited after looking at LSI Industries' (NASDAQ:LYTS) recent performance, when its stock has declined 19% over the past month. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Specifically, we decided to study LSI Industries' ROE in this article.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for LSI Industries

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 LSI Industries is:

11% = US$23m ÷ US$217m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.11 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. 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.

LSI Industries' Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

To begin with, LSI Industries seems to have a respectable ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 9.5% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This probably goes some way in explaining LSI Industries' significant 32% net income growth over the past five years amongst other factors. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

As a next step, we compared LSI Industries' 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 18%.

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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for LYTS? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is LSI Industries Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

LSI Industries' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 25%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 75% of its profits. So it looks like LSI Industries is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.

Moreover, LSI Industries is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with LSI Industries' performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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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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.