【tales of the abyss 3ds vs ps2】II-VI Incorporated (NASDAQ:IIVI) Delivered A Weaker ROE Than Its Industry

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This tales of the abyss 3ds vs ps2article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand II-VI Incorporated (

NASDAQ:IIVI

).

Our data shows

II-VI has a return on equity of 2.6%

for the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, it generated $0.03 in profit.

Check out our latest analysis for II-VI

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The

formula for return on equity

is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

Or for II-VI:

2.6% = US$55m ÷ US$2.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019.)

It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is all the money paid into the company from shareholders, plus any earnings retained. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets.

What Does Return On Equity Signify?

ROE measures a company's profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. The higher the ROE, the more profit the company is making. So, all else being equal,

a high ROE is better than a low one

. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses.

Does II-VI Have A Good ROE?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. If you look at the image below, you can see II-VI has a lower ROE than the average (12%) in the Electronic industry classification.

NasdaqGS:IIVI Past Revenue and Net Income, January 1st 2020

That's not what we like to see. We'd prefer see an ROE above the industry average, but it might not matter if the company is undervalued. Still,

shareholders might want to check if insiders have been selling

.

How Does Debt Impact Return On Equity?

Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.

Story continues

Combining II-VI's Debt And Its 2.6% Return On Equity

II-VI does use a significant amount of debt to increase returns. It has a debt to equity ratio of 1.12. Its ROE is quite low, even with the use of significant debt; that's not a good result, in my opinion. Debt increases risk and reduces options for the company in the future, so you generally want to see some good returns from using it.

In Summary

Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE.

But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to take a peek at this

data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company

.

Of course

II-VI may not be the best stock to buy

. So you may wish to see this

free

collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at

[email protected]

. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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