Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WTW) has had a rough month with its share price down 5.4%. 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Willis Towers Watson’s ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company’s management is utilizing the company’s capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder’s equity.
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How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders’ Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Willis Towers Watson is:
11% = US$1.1b ÷ US$9.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The ‘return’ is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders’ capital it has, the company made $0.11 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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 all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don’t have the same features.
A Side By Side comparison of Willis Towers Watson’s Earnings Growth And 11% ROE
To begin with, Willis Towers Watson seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company’s ROE is similar to the industry average of 13%. This probably goes some way in explaining Willis Towers Watson’s moderate 9.9% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.
We then compared Willis Towers Watson’s net income growth with the industry and we’re pleased to see that the company’s growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 8.1% in the same 5-year period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for WTW? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Willis Towers Watson Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Willis Towers Watson has a three-year median payout ratio of 33%, which implies that it retains the remaining 67% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Besides, Willis Towers Watson has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company’s future payout ratio is expected to drop to 18% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected drop in the payout ratio explains the expected increase in the company’s ROE to 18%, over the same period.
Conclusion
On the whole, we feel that Willis Towers Watson’s performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. We also studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that the company’s earnings growth is expected be similar to its current growth rate. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company’s fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst’s forecasts page 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.
