With its stock down 17% over the past month, it is easy to disregard Worley (ASX:WOR). Given that stock prices are usually driven by a company’s fundamentals over the long term, which in this case look pretty weak, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators. Specifically, we decided to study Worley'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.

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How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Worley is:

6.8% = AU$394m ÷ AU$5.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every A$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of A$0.07.

Check out our latest analysis for Worley

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. 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 Worley's Earnings Growth And 6.8% ROE

On the face of it, Worley's ROE is not much to talk about. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 15%. Worley was still able to see a decent net income growth of 20% over the past five years. So, there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

As a next step, we compared Worley'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 26% in the same period.

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. If you're wondering about Worley's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio , as compared to its industry.

Is Worley Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

The really high three-year median payout ratio of 152% for Worley suggests that the company is paying its shareholders more than what it is earning. However, this hasn't really hampered its ability to grow as we saw earlier. That being said, the high payout ratio could be worth keeping an eye on in case the company is unable to keep up its current growth momentum.

Moreover, Worley 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. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 59% over the next three years. The fact that the company's ROE is expected to rise to 9.5% over the same period is explained by the drop in the payout ratio.

Conclusion

On the whole, Worley's performance is quite a big let-down. While the company has posted decent earnings growth, the company is retaining little to no profits and is reinvesting those profits at a low rate of return. This makes us doubtful if that growth could continue, especially if by any chance the business is faced with any sort of risk. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.