Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) has had a rough month with its share price down 12%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company's financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Williams-Sonoma's ROE today.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

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 Williams-Sonoma is:

48% = US$1.1b ÷ US$2.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2024).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.48.

Why Is ROE Important For 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don't share these attributes.

A Side By Side comparison of Williams-Sonoma's Earnings Growth And 48% ROE

To begin with, Williams-Sonoma has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 19% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Probably as a result of this, Williams-Sonoma was able to see a decent net income growth of 20% over the last five years.

As a next step, we compared Williams-Sonoma's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 17% in the same period.

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. Is WSM fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Williams-Sonoma Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

In Williams-Sonoma's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 19% (or a retention ratio of 81%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, Williams-Sonoma has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 32% over the next three years. Therefore, the expected rise in the payout ratio explains why the company's ROE is expected to decline to 37% over the same period.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Williams-Sonoma's performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. 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 company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.