Louisiana-Pacific's (NYSE:LPX) stock is up by a considerable 17% 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. Specifically, we decided to study Louisiana-Pacific's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Louisiana-Pacific is:

25% = US$417m ÷ US$1.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.25 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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 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.

Louisiana-Pacific's Earnings Growth And 25% ROE

First thing first, we like that Louisiana-Pacific has an impressive ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 8.5% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This likely paved the way for the modest 5.0% net income growth seen by Louisiana-Pacific over the past five years.

We then compared Louisiana-Pacific's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 15% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Louisiana-Pacific is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Louisiana-Pacific Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

In Louisiana-Pacific's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 14% (or a retention ratio of 86%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, Louisiana-Pacific 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 is expected to rise to 18% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected increase in the payout ratio explains the expected decline in the company's ROE to 18%, over the same period.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Louisiana-Pacific'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 respectable growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.