Advertisement
Canada markets close in 5 hours 59 minutes

  • S&P/TSX

    21,938.67
    -72.95 (-0.33%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,108.56
    -7.61 (-0.15%)
     

  • DOW

    38,160.34
    -225.75 (-0.59%)
     

  • CAD/USD

    0.7272
    -0.0050 (-0.68%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    81.86
    -0.77 (-0.93%)
     

  • Bitcoin CAD

    86,000.88
    -925.06 (-1.06%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,306.89
    -32.17 (-2.40%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,322.50
    -35.20 (-1.49%)
     

  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,002.34
    -13.69 (-0.68%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.6670
    +0.0530 (+1.15%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    15,968.96
    -14.13 (-0.09%)
     

  • VOLATILITY

    14.76
    +0.09 (+0.61%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,174.42
    +27.39 (+0.34%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    38,405.66
    +470.90 (+1.24%)
     

  • CAD/EUR

    0.6790
    -0.0034 (-0.50%)
     
MARKETS LIVE BLOG:

STOCKS OPEN LOWER WITH FED IN FOCUS, AMAZON EARNINGS ON DECK

Prospect of rate cuts has fallen dramatically since the start of 2024, helping drive up Treasury yields

Why Quebecor Inc. (TSE:QBR.A) Looks Like A Quality Company

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

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Quebecor Inc. (TSE:QBR.A).

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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Quebecor

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

ADVERTISEMENT

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Quebecor is:

35% = CA$635m ÷ CA$1.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every CA$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CA$0.35.

Does Quebecor Have A Good ROE?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Quebecor has a better ROE than the average (11%) in the Telecom industry.

roe
roe

That is a good sign. 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 .

How Does Debt Impact Return On Equity?

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.

Quebecor's Debt And Its 35% ROE

It appears that Quebecor makes extensive use of debt to improve its returns, because it has an alarmingly high debt to equity ratio of 4.24. So although the company has an impressive ROE, the company might not have been able to achieve this without the significant use of debt.

Summary

Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE.

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.

Of course Quebecor may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE 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.