Advertisement
Canada markets closed

  • S&P/TSX

    24,162.83
    +194.33 (+0.81%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,751.07
    +51.13 (+0.90%)
     

  • DOW

    42,352.75
    +341.16 (+0.81%)
     

  • CAD/USD

    0.7369
    -0.0010 (-0.13%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    74.45
    +0.74 (+1.00%)
     

  • Bitcoin CAD

    84,024.25
    -596.81 (-0.71%)
     

  • XRP CAD

    0.72
    -0.01 (-1.13%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,673.20
    -6.00 (-0.22%)
     

  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,212.80
    +32.65 (+1.50%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    3.9810
    +0.1310 (+3.40%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    18,137.85
    +219.38 (+1.22%)
     

  • VOLATILITY

    19.21
    -1.28 (-6.25%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,280.63
    -1.89 (-0.02%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    38,635.62
    +83.56 (+0.22%)
     

  • CAD/EUR

    0.6709
    +0.0024 (+0.36%)
     

A Closer Look At GlobalData Plc's (LON:DATA) Impressive ROE

editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)
·3 min read

One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of GlobalData Plc (LON:DATA).

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for GlobalData

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 GlobalData is:

53% = UK£31m ÷ UK£58m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated £0.53 in profit.

Does GlobalData Have A Good ROE?

One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, GlobalData has a better ROE than the average (15%) in the Professional Services industry.

roe
roe

That's what we like to see. However, bear in mind that a high ROE doesn’t necessarily indicate efficient profit generation. A higher proportion of debt in a company's capital structure may also result in a high ROE, where the high debt levels could be a huge risk . You can see the 2 risks we have identified for GlobalData by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

How Does Debt Impact Return On Equity?

Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.

Combining GlobalData's Debt And Its 53% Return On Equity

It seems that GlobalData uses a huge volume of debt to fund the business, since it has an extremely high debt to equity ratio of 4.56. Its ROE is clearly quite good, but it seems to be boosted by the significant use of debt by the company.

Conclusion

Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.

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