Are Global Payments Inc.'s (NYSE:GPN) Fundamentals Good Enough to Warrant Buying Given The Stock's Recent Weakness?

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Simply Wall St

Sun, May 15, 2022, 8:17 AM 4 min read

It is hard to get excited after looking at Global Payments' (NYSE:GPN) recent performance, when its stock has declined 17% over the past three months. However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Global Payments' ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for Global Payments

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Global Payments is:

4.1% = US$1.0b ÷ US$25b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.04 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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. 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.

Global Payments' Earnings Growth And 4.1% ROE

At first glance, Global Payments' ROE doesn't look very promising. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 17% either. Despite this, surprisingly, Global Payments saw an exceptional 22% net income growth over the past five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

We then compared Global Payments' 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 15% in the same period.

past-earnings-growth — NYSE:GPN Past Earnings Growth May 15th 2022

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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is GPN fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Global Payments Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

The three-year median payout ratio for Global Payments is 29%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 71%. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Global Payments is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.

Additionally, Global Payments has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 8.1% over the next three years. As a result, the expected drop in Global Payments' payout ratio explains the anticipated rise in the company's future ROE to 12%, over the same period.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Global Payments certainly does have some positive factors to consider. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable 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 latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts 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.