Yahoo Finance Is Alaska Air Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:ALK) Recent Price Movement Underpinned By Its Weak Fundamentals?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Alaska Air Group's (NYSE:ALK) recent performance, when its stock has declined 13% over the past month. We, however decided to study the company's financials to determine if they have got anything to do with the price decline. Stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, and therefore we decided to pay more attention to the company's financial performance. In this article, we decided to focus on Alaska Air Group's ROE.
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.
View our latest analysis for Alaska Air Group
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Alaska Air Group is:
4.0% = US$160m ÷ US$4.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.04 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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 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.
Alaska Air Group's Earnings Growth And 4.0% ROE
As you can see, Alaska Air Group's ROE looks pretty weak. Even when compared to the industry average of 14%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 27% seen by Alaska Air Group over the last five years is not surprising. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. For example, the business has allocated capital poorly, or that the company has a very high payout ratio.
As a next step, we compared Alaska Air Group's performance with the industry and found thatAlaska Air Group's performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 18% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.
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 Alaska Air Group fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Alaska Air Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Alaska Air Group doesn't pay any dividend, meaning that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business, which doesn't explain why the company's earnings have shrunk if it is retaining all of its profits. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.
Summary
In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Alaska Air Group's performance. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. 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.
