With its stock down 13% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE). However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. In this article, we decided to focus on Genie Energy's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Genie Energy

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Genie Energy is:

2.0% = US$4.1m ÷ US$200m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.02 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

Genie Energy's Earnings Growth And 2.0% ROE

It is hard to argue that Genie Energy's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even when compared to the industry average of 9.3%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Genie Energy was still able to see a decent net income growth of 19% over the past five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Genie Energy's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 6.7% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. If you're wondering about Genie Energy's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Genie Energy Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Genie Energy has a low three-year median payout ratio of 16%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 84% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.

Besides, Genie Energy has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Genie Energy certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Even in spite of the low rate of return, the company has posted impressive earnings growth as a result of reinvesting heavily into its business. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. You can see the 4 risks we have identified for Genie Energy by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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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.