QANTM Intellectual Property Limited's (ASX:QIP) Stock Been Rising But Financials Look Weak: Should Shareholders Be Worried?
Most readers would already know that QANTM Intellectual Property's (ASX:QIP) stock increased by 4.4% over the past month. However, in this article, we decided to focus on its weak financials, as long-term fundamentals ultimately dictate market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on QANTM Intellectual Property's ROE.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
See our latest analysis for QANTM Intellectual Property
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
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 QANTM Intellectual Property is:
14% = AU$10m ÷ AU$73m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. So, this means that for every A$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of A$0.14.
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. 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.
QANTM Intellectual Property's Earnings Growth And 14% ROE
To start with, QANTM Intellectual Property's ROE looks acceptable. Even so, when compared with the average industry ROE of 21%, we aren't very excited. Moreover, QANTM Intellectual Property's net income shrunk at a rate of 9.7%over the past five years. Bear in mind, the company does have a high ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is higher. So there might be other reasons for the earnings to shrink. These include low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.
So, as a next step, we compared QANTM Intellectual Property's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 17% in the same period.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if QANTM Intellectual Property is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is QANTM Intellectual Property Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
QANTM Intellectual Property has a high three-year median payout ratio of 98% (that is, it is retaining 1.6% of its profits). This suggests that the company is paying most of its profits as dividends to its shareholders. This goes some way in explaining why its earnings have been shrinking. With only very little left to reinvest into the business, growth in earnings is far from likely. To know the 2 risks we have identified for QANTM Intellectual Property visit our risks dashboard for free.
Moreover, QANTM Intellectual Property has been paying dividends for five years, which is a considerable amount of time, suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer consistent dividends even though earnings have been shrinking. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 77% over the next three years. Despite the lower expected payout ratio, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much.
Conclusion
On the whole, QANTM Intellectual Property's performance is quite a big let-down. While its ROE is pretty moderate, the company is retaining very little of its profits, meaning very little of its profits are being reinvested into the business. This explains the lack or absence of growth in its earnings. With that said, we studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that while the company has shrunk its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to grow in the future. 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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