Most readers would already be aware that Cognizant Technology Solutions’ (NASDAQ:CTSH) stock increased significantly by 10% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. In this article, we decided to focus on Cognizant Technology Solutions’ ROE.
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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
Check out our latest analysis for Cognizant Technology Solutions
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 Cognizant Technology Solutions is:
16% = US$2.2b ÷ US$14b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
The ‘return’ is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders’ equity, the company generated $0.16 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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 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 Cognizant Technology Solutions’ Earnings Growth And 16% ROE
To start with, Cognizant Technology Solutions’ ROE looks acceptable. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 13%. This probably goes some way in explaining Cognizant Technology Solutions’ moderate 5.5% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.
As a next step, we compared Cognizant Technology Solutions’ net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company’s growth is lower than the industry average growth of 8.3% in the same period.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock’s future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for CTSH? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Cognizant Technology Solutions Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Cognizant Technology Solutions has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 26% (or a retention ratio of 74%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.
Besides, Cognizant Technology Solutions has been paying dividends over a period of seven years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 26%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Cognizant Technology Solutions’ future ROE will be 16% which is again, similar to the current ROE.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with Cognizant Technology Solutions’ performance. 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 respectable growth in its earnings. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company’s earnings are expected to gain momentum. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company’s fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst’s forecasts page 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.
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