Yahoo Finance Does The Market Have A Low Tolerance For Mercury Systems, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MRCY) Mixed Fundamentals?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Mercury Systems' (NASDAQ:MRCY) recent performance, when its stock has declined 37% over the past three months. It seems that the market might have completely ignored the positive aspects of the company's fundamentals and decided to weigh-in more on the negative aspects. Stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, and therefore we decided to pay more attention to the company's financial performance. Specifically, we decided to study Mercury Systems' 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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
Check out our latest analysis for Mercury Systems
How To 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 Mercury Systems is:
0.7% = US$11m ÷ US$1.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2022).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.01 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.
Mercury Systems' Earnings Growth And 0.7% ROE
As you can see, Mercury Systems' ROE looks pretty weak. Even when compared to the industry average of 10%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Accordingly, Mercury Systems' low net income growth of 2.0% over the past five years can possibly be explained by the low ROE amongst other factors.
We then compared Mercury Systems' net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 4.0% in the same period, which is a bit concerning.
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 Mercury Systems fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Mercury Systems Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Mercury Systems doesn't pay any dividend, which means that it is retaining all of its earnings. However, this doesn't explain the low earnings growth the company has seen. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.
Conclusion
In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Mercury Systems' performance. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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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.
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