Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Best Buy's (NYSE:BBY) recent performance, when its stock has declined 14% over the past month. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Specifically, we decided to study Best Buy's ROE in this article.

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 Best Buy

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Best Buy is:

80% = US$2.2b ÷ US$2.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2022).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.80.

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. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

Best Buy's Earnings Growth And 80% ROE

First thing first, we like that Best Buy has an impressive ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 32% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This probably laid the groundwork for Best Buy's moderate 18% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Best Buy's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 27% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Best Buy is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Best Buy Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

With a three-year median payout ratio of 34% (implying that the company retains 66% of its profits), it seems that Best Buy is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees respectable amount growth in its earnings and pays a dividend that's well covered.

Besides, Best Buy has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 29%. As a result, Best Buy's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 88% for future ROE.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Best Buy's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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.