MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 26% over the last month. 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. In this article, we decided to focus on MicroStrategy’s ROE.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
Check out our latest analysis for MicroStrategy
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 MicroStrategy is:
6.8% = US$34m ÷ US$509m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).
The ‘return’ is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder’s investments, the company generates a profit of $0.07.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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.
MicroStrategy’s Earnings Growth And 6.8% ROE
When you first look at it, MicroStrategy’s ROE doesn’t look that attractive. A quick further study shows that the company’s ROE doesn’t compare favorably to the industry average of 12% either. For this reason, MicroStrategy’s five year net income decline of 25% is not surprising given its lower ROE. However, there could also be other factors causing the earnings to decline. For example, it is possible that the business has allocated capital poorly or that the company has a very high payout ratio.
That being said, we compared MicroStrategy’s performance with the industry and were concerned when we found that while the company has shrunk its earnings, the industry has grown its earnings at a rate of 25% in the same period.
NasdaqGS:MSTR Past Earnings Growth April 20th 2020
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). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 MicroStrategy is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is MicroStrategy Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
MicroStrategy doesn’t pay any dividend, meaning that the company is keeping all of its profits, which makes us wonder why it is retaining its earnings if it can’t use them to grow its business. It looks like there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.
Conclusion
Overall, we have mixed feelings about MicroStrategy. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth.
Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business.
To know the 3 risks we have identified for MicroStrategy visit our risks dashboard for free.
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