NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) has had a rough month with its share price down 15%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Particularly, we will be paying attention to NVE's ROE today.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for NVE

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity 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 NVE is:

24% = US$15m ÷ US$63m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.24.

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. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.

NVE's Earnings Growth And 24% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that NVE has a significantly high ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 11% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. This likely paved the way for the modest 8.9% net income growth seen by NVE over the past five years.

We then compared NVE's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 20% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about NVE's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is NVE Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

NVE's high three-year median payout ratio of 113% suggests that the company is paying out more to its shareholders than what it is making. Still the company's earnings have grown respectably. That being said, the high payout ratio could be worth keeping an eye on in case the company is unable to keep up its current growth momentum.

Moreover, NVE is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.

Summary

In total, it does look like NVE has some positive aspects to its business. The company has grown its earnings moderately as a result of its impressive ROE. Yet, the business is retaining hardly any of its profits. This might have negative implications on the company's future growth. Up till now, we've only made a short study of the company's growth data. To gain further insights into NVE's past profit growth, check out this visualization of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

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.