With its stock down 13% over the past week, it is easy to disregard Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC). However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Specifically, we decided to study Paycom Software's ROE in this article.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Paycom Software is:
32% = US$502m ÷ US$1.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).
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 $0.32.
See our latest analysis for Paycom Software
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. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.
A Side By Side comparison of Paycom Software's Earnings Growth And 32% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Paycom Software has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 20% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Under the circumstances, Paycom Software's considerable five year net income growth of 26% was to be expected.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Paycom Software's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 10% in the same period, which is great to see.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is PAYC fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.
Is Paycom Software Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Paycom Software's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 18%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 82% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.
While Paycom Software has been growing its earnings, it only recently started to pay dividends which likely means that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 18% of its profits over the next three years. Still, forecasts suggest that Paycom Software's future ROE will drop to 21% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that Paycom Software'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. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.