Shockwave Medical, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SWAV) Stock Is Going Strong: Is the Market Following Fundamentals?
Most readers would already be aware that Shockwave Medical's (NASDAQ:SWAV) stock increased significantly by 16% over the past month. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Shockwave Medical's ROE.
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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
View our latest analysis for Shockwave Medical
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Shockwave Medical is:
42% = US$216m ÷ US$511m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.42 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. 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.
Shockwave Medical's Earnings Growth And 42% ROE
First thing first, we like that Shockwave Medical has an impressive ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 11% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. Under the circumstances, Shockwave Medical's considerable five year net income growth of 54% was to be expected.
As a next step, we compared Shockwave Medical's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 16%.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Shockwave Medical's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Shockwave Medical Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Given that Shockwave Medical doesn't pay any dividend to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.
Conclusion
On the whole, we feel that Shockwave Medical's performance has been quite good. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable 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 company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.
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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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