Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) has had a rough three months with its share price down 14%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company's financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Keurig Dr Pepper's ROE today.

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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Keurig Dr Pepper is:

9.1% = US$2.3b ÷ US$25b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.09 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. 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.

Keurig Dr Pepper's Earnings Growth And 9.1% ROE

When you first look at it, Keurig Dr Pepper's ROE doesn't look that attractive. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 16%. Although, we can see that Keurig Dr Pepper saw a modest net income growth of 12% over the past five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

As a next step, we compared Keurig Dr Pepper's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 11% 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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Keurig Dr Pepper fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Keurig Dr Pepper Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

While Keurig Dr Pepper has a three-year median payout ratio of 55% (which means it retains 45% of profits), the company has still seen a fair bit of earnings growth in the past, meaning that its high payout ratio hasn't hampered its ability to grow.

Moreover, Keurig Dr Pepper is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of six years of paying a dividend. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 45%. Still, forecasts suggest that Keurig Dr Pepper's future ROE will rise to 11% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that Keurig Dr Pepper has some positive attributes. That is, quite an impressive growth in earnings. However, the low profit retention means that the company's earnings growth could have been higher, had it been reinvesting a higher portion of its profits. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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.