It is hard to get excited after looking at Xinjiang Joinworld's (SHSE:600888) recent performance, when its stock has declined 4.5% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company's financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Specifically, we decided to study Xinjiang Joinworld's ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

See our latest analysis for Xinjiang Joinworld

How Is ROE Calculated?

Return on equity 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 Xinjiang Joinworld is:

18% = CN¥1.6b ÷ CN¥8.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.18 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

A Side By Side comparison of Xinjiang Joinworld's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

To start with, Xinjiang Joinworld's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 8.4%. Probably as a result of this, Xinjiang Joinworld was able to see an impressive net income growth of 53% over the last five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

As a next step, we compared Xinjiang Joinworld'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 17%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. 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 Xinjiang Joinworld is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Xinjiang Joinworld Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Xinjiang Joinworld's three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 27%, meaning the company retains 73% of its income. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the high growth we discussed above, it looks like Xinjiang Joinworld is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Additionally, Xinjiang Joinworld has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Xinjiang Joinworld'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. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Remember, the price of a stock is also dependent on the perceived risk. Therefore investors must keep themselves informed about the risks involved before investing in any company. Our risks dashboard will have the 1 risk we have identified for Xinjiang Joinworld.

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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.