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LegalZoom.com's (NASDAQ:LZ) stock is up by a considerable 25% over the past three months. 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 LegalZoom.com's 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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
View our latest analysis for LegalZoom.com
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 LegalZoom.com is:
41% = US$24m ÷ US$60m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).
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 $0.41 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. 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.
LegalZoom.com's Earnings Growth And 41% ROE
First thing first, we like that LegalZoom.com has an impressive ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 20% which is quite remarkable. So, the substantial 29% net income growth seen by LegalZoom.com over the past five years isn't overly surprising.
As a next step, we compared LegalZoom.com's 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 11%.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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 LegalZoom.com fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.