Yahoo Finance Schlumberger Limited's (NYSE:SLB) Stock On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Momentum?
Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 24% over the last three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Schlumberger's ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
See our latest analysis for Schlumberger
How Is ROE Calculated?
ROE 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 Schlumberger is:
16% = US$2.7b ÷ US$17b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.16 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. 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. 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.
Schlumberger's Earnings Growth And 16% ROE
To start with, Schlumberger's ROE looks acceptable. Especially when compared to the industry average of 6.8% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. For this reason, Schlumberger's five year net income decline of 6.2% raises the question as to why the high ROE didn't translate into earnings growth. We reckon that there could be some other factors at play here that are preventing the company's growth. For example, it could be that the company has a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.
As a next step, we compared Schlumberger's performance with the industry and found thatSchlumberger's performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 4.6% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for SLB? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Schlumberger Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
In spite of a normal LTM (or last twelve month) payout ratio of 30% (that is, a retention ratio of 70%), the fact that Schlumberger's earnings have shrunk is quite puzzling. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.
Additionally, Schlumberger has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 24%. However, Schlumberger's ROE is predicted to rise to 22% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.
Conclusion
In total, it does look like Schlumberger has some positive aspects to its business. Although, we are disappointed to see a lack of growth in earnings even in spite of a high ROE and and a high reinvestment rate. We believe that there might be some outside factors that could be having a negative impact on the business. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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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