The subdued stock price reaction suggests that LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:RAMP) strong earnings didn't offer any surprises. We think that investors have missed some encouraging factors underlying the profit figures.

A Closer Look At LiveRamp Holdings' Earnings

In high finance, the key ratio used to measure how well a company converts reported profits into free cash flow (FCF) is the accrual ratio (from cashflow). The accrual ratio subtracts the FCF from the profit for a given period, and divides the result by the average operating assets of the company over that time. The ratio shows us how much a company's profit exceeds its FCF.

Therefore, it's actually considered a good thing when a company has a negative accrual ratio, but a bad thing if its accrual ratio is positive. That is not intended to imply we should worry about a positive accrual ratio, but it's worth noting where the accrual ratio is rather high. Notably, there is some academic evidence that suggests that a high accrual ratio is a bad sign for near-term profits, generally speaking.

LiveRamp Holdings has an accrual ratio of -0.18 for the year to March 2024. That implies it has very good cash conversion, and that its earnings in the last year actually significantly understate its free cash flow. In fact, it had free cash flow of US$103m in the last year, which was a lot more than its statutory profit of US$10.1m. LiveRamp Holdings shareholders are no doubt pleased that free cash flow improved over the last twelve months. However, that's not all there is to consider. We can see that unusual items have impacted its statutory profit, and therefore the accrual ratio.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

LiveRamp Holdings' profit was reduced by unusual items worth US$14m in the last twelve months, and this helped it produce high cash conversion, as reflected by its unusual items. In a scenario where those unusual items included non-cash charges, we'd expect to see a strong accrual ratio, which is exactly what has happened in this case. It's never great to see unusual items costing the company profits, but on the upside, things might improve sooner rather than later. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. LiveRamp Holdings took a rather significant hit from unusual items in the year to March 2024. All else being equal, this would likely have the effect of making the statutory profit look worse than its underlying earnings power.

Our Take On LiveRamp Holdings' Profit Performance

In conclusion, both LiveRamp Holdings' accrual ratio and its unusual items suggest that its statutory earnings are probably reasonably conservative. Based on these factors, we think LiveRamp Holdings' underlying earnings potential is as good as, or probably even better, than the statutory profit makes it seem! If you'd like to know more about LiveRamp Holdings as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for LiveRamp Holdings and you'll want to know about this.

After our examination into the nature of LiveRamp Holdings' profit, we've come away optimistic for the company. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.