NEXT's (LON:NXT) stock is up by 7.8% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term financial health, we decided to study the company’s fundamentals to see if they could be influencing the market. Specifically, we decided to study NEXT'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.
Check out our latest analysis for NEXT
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 NEXT is:
63% = UK£701m ÷ UK£1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2023).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated £0.63 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. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
A Side By Side comparison of NEXT's Earnings Growth And 63% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that NEXT has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 15% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This probably laid the groundwork for NEXT's moderate 5.5% net income growth seen over the past five years.
We then compared NEXT's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 19% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for NXT? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.