Advertisement
U.S. markets open in 47 minutes
  • S&P Futures

    5,307.25
    -1.00 (-0.02%)
     
  • Dow Futures

    40,158.00
    +14.00 (+0.03%)
     
  • Nasdaq Futures

    18,500.25
    -3.50 (-0.02%)
     
  • Russell 2000 Futures

    2,140.80
    +2.40 (+0.11%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    82.71
    +1.36 (+1.67%)
     
  • Gold

    2,230.00
    +17.30 (+0.78%)
     
  • Silver

    24.72
    -0.03 (-0.13%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0798
    -0.0032 (-0.29%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2300
    +0.0340 (+0.81%)
     
  • Vix

    13.00
    +0.22 (+1.72%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2628
    -0.0010 (-0.08%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    151.2900
    +0.0440 (+0.03%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,511.01
    +452.42 (+0.65%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,949.71
    +17.73 (+0.22%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Is General Finance Corporation's (NASDAQ:GFN) 12% ROE Strong Compared To Its Industry?

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand General Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:GFN).

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.

View our latest analysis for General Finance

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 General Finance is:

12% = US$25m ÷ US$204m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.12 in profit.

Does General Finance Have A Good Return On Equity?

By comparing a company's ROE with its industry average, we can get a quick measure of how good it is. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. The image below shows that General Finance has an ROE that is roughly in line with the Trade Distributors industry average (12%).

roe
roe

That's neither particularly good, nor bad. Even if the ROE is respectable when compared to the industry, its worth checking if the firm's ROE is being aided by high debt levels. If a company takes on too much debt, it is at higher risk of defaulting on interest payments. Our risks dashboardshould have the 4 risks we have identified for General Finance.

Why You Should Consider Debt When Looking At ROE

Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.

General Finance's Debt And Its 12% ROE

General Finance clearly uses a high amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.81. While its ROE is pretty respectable, the amount of debt the company is carrying currently is not ideal. Investors should think carefully about how a company might perform if it was unable to borrow so easily, because credit markets do change over time.

Summary

Return on equity is one way we can compare its business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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

Advertisement