BJ's Restaurants' (NASDAQ:BJRI) stock is up by a considerable 14% over the past week. But the company's key financial indicators appear to be differing across the board and that makes us question whether or not the company's current share price momentum can be maintained. Specifically, we decided to study BJ's Restaurants' ROE in this article.

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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

How Do You 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 BJ's Restaurants is:

7.5% = US$29m ÷ US$386m (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.08 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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.

BJ's Restaurants' Earnings Growth And 7.5% ROE

On the face of it, BJ's Restaurants' ROE is not much to talk about. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 16% either. As a result, BJ's Restaurants reported a very low income growth of 4.4% over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that BJ's Restaurants' reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 29% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.

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). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is BJRI fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is BJ's Restaurants Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

BJ's Restaurants doesn't pay any regular dividends, which means that it is retaining all of its earnings. This doesn't explain the low earnings growth number that we discussed above. Therefore, there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

Summary

Overall, we have mixed feelings about BJ's Restaurants. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.