Yahoo Finance ARC Document Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:ARC) Stock's Been Sliding But Fundamentals Look Decent: Will The Market Correct The Share Price In The Future?
ARC Document Solutions (NYSE:ARC) has had a rough three months with its share price down 11%. However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. Specifically, we decided to study ARC Document Solutions' 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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
View our latest analysis for ARC Document Solutions
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 ARC Document Solutions is:
6.3% = US$10m ÷ US$159m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.06 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. 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.
ARC Document Solutions' Earnings Growth And 6.3% ROE
On the face of it, ARC Document Solutions' ROE is not much to talk about. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 10%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. In spite of this, ARC Document Solutions was able to grow its net income considerably, at a rate of 59% in the last five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.
As a next step, we compared ARC Document Solutions' 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 6.2%.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if ARC Document Solutions is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is ARC Document Solutions Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
The three-year median payout ratio for ARC Document Solutions is 25%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 75%. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the high growth we discussed above, it looks like ARC Document Solutions is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
While ARC Document Solutions has been growing its earnings, it only recently started to pay dividends which likely means that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend.
Summary
In total, it does look like ARC Document Solutions has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for ARC Document Solutions.
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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.
