Yahoo Finance Will Weakness in Overstock.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:OSTK) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?
With its stock down 15% over the past month, it is easy to disregard Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK). However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Overstock.com's ROE today.
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.
View our latest analysis for Overstock.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 Overstock.com is:
18% = US$121m ÷ US$676m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.18 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.
Overstock.com's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE
At first glance, Overstock.com seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 20% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This probably goes some way in explaining Overstock.com's moderate 10% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Overstock.com's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 34% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is OSTK fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.
Is Overstock.com Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with Overstock.com's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. 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 company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.
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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