Yahoo Finance Marcus & Millichap, Inc.'s (NYSE:MMI) Stock Has Shown A Decent Performance: Have Financials A Role To Play?
Most readers would already know that Marcus & Millichap's (NYSE:MMI) stock increased by 2.8% over the past week. As most would know, long-term fundamentals have a strong correlation with market price movements, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Marcus & Millichap's ROE today.
ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
See our latest analysis for Marcus & Millichap
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 Marcus & Millichap is:
13% = US$76m ÷ US$597m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.13 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.
Marcus & Millichap's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
To begin with, Marcus & Millichap seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 9.3%. Given the circumstances, we can't help but wonder why Marcus & Millichap saw little to no growth in the past five years. Therefore, there could be some other aspects that could potentially be preventing the company from growing. Such as, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.
As a next step, we compared Marcus & Millichap's net income growth with the industry and discovered that the industry saw an average growth of 6.4% 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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Marcus & Millichap's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Marcus & Millichap Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Marcus & Millichap doesn't pay any dividend, meaning that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business. However, this doesn't explain why the company hasn't seen any growth. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.
Conclusion
Overall, we feel that Marcus & Millichap certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a high rate of return and is reinvesting ma huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. Up till now, we've only made a short study of the company's growth data. You can do your own research on Marcus & Millichap and see how it has performed in the past by looking at this FREE detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.
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.
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