Advertisement
New Zealand markets open in 3 hours 50 minutes
  • NZX 50

    11,803.28
    -49.52 (-0.42%)
     
  • NZD/USD

    0.5943
    +0.0022 (+0.37%)
     
  • ALL ORDS

    7,937.90
    +35.90 (+0.45%)
     
  • OIL

    83.21
    +1.31 (+1.60%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,340.60
    -5.80 (-0.25%)
     

Could The Market Be Wrong About Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) Given Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Edwards Lifesciences' (NYSE:EW) recent performance, when its stock has declined 24% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Specifically, we decided to study Edwards Lifesciences' 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.

See our latest analysis for Edwards Lifesciences

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

ADVERTISEMENT

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Edwards Lifesciences is:

23% = US$1.5b ÷ US$6.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.23 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. 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.

Edwards Lifesciences' Earnings Growth And 23% ROE

First thing first, we like that Edwards Lifesciences has an impressive ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This likely paved the way for the modest 20% net income growth seen by Edwards Lifesciences over the past five years. growth

As a next step, we compared Edwards Lifesciences' net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 18% in the same period.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

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). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Has the market priced in the future outlook for EW? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Edwards Lifesciences Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Given that Edwards Lifesciences doesn't pay any dividend to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with Edwards Lifesciences' performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here