Most readers would already be aware that Archer-Daniels-Midland's (NYSE:ADM) stock increased significantly by 5.6% over the past month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study Archer-Daniels-Midland's ROE in this article.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Archer-Daniels-Midland is:

11% = US$2.6b ÷ US$22b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.11.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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 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.

Archer-Daniels-Midland's Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

At first glance, Archer-Daniels-Midland seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the impressive net income growth of 21% seen over the past five years by Archer-Daniels-Midland. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Archer-Daniels-Midland's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 8.2% in the same period, which is great to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Archer-Daniels-Midland fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Archer-Daniels-Midland Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

The three-year median payout ratio for Archer-Daniels-Midland is 28%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 72%. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Archer-Daniels-Midland is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.

Additionally, Archer-Daniels-Midland has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 42% over the next three years. Despite the higher expected payout ratio, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Archer-Daniels-Midland's performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. 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.