Lam Research Corporation's (NASDAQ:LRCX) Stock Been Rising: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?

Lam Research's (NASDAQ:LRCX) stock is up by 6.1% over the past three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Lam Research's ROE today.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Lam Research

How Is ROE Calculated?

ROE 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 Lam Research is:

55% = US$4.5b ÷ US$8.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

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 $0.55 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Lam Research's Earnings Growth And 55% ROE

To begin with, Lam Research has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 15% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This likely paved the way for the modest 19% net income growth seen by Lam Research over the past five years.

We then compared Lam Research's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 31% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. Is LRCX fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Lam Research Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Lam Research has a low three-year median payout ratio of 19%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 81% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.

Additionally, Lam Research has paid dividends over a period of nine years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with 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 19%. As a result, Lam Research's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 45% for future ROE.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Lam Research'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. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.