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Ratios

Profitability Ratios.

Definition of 'Profitability Ratios': A class of financial metrics that are used to assess a business's ability to generate earnings as compared to its expenses and other relevant costs incurred during a specific period of time. For most of these ratios, having a higher value relative to a competitor's ratio or the same ratio from a previous period is indicative that the company is doing well. Investopedia explains 'Profitability Ratios': Some examples of profitability ratios are profit margin, return on assets and return on equity. It is important to note that a little bit of background knowledge is necessary in order to make relevant comparisons when analyzing these ratios. For instances, some industries experience seasonality in their operations. The retail industry, for example, typically experiences higher revenues and earnings for the Christmas season. Therefore, it would not be too useful to compare a retailer's fourth-quarter profit margin with its first-quarter profit margin. On the other hand, comparing a retailer's fourth-quarter profit margin with the profit margin from the same period a year before would be far more informative. Definition of 'Profit Margin': A ratio of profitability calculated as net income divided by revenues, or net profits divided by sales. It measures how much out of every dollar of sales a company actually keeps in earnings. Profit margin is very useful when comparing companies in similar industries. A higher profit margin indicates a more profitable company that has better control over its costs compared to its competitors. Profit margin is displayed as a percentage; a 20\% profit margin, for example, means the company has a net income of $0.20 for each dollar of sales. Also known as Net Profit Margin. Investopedia explains Profit Margin: Looking at the earnings of a company often doesn't tell the entire story. Increased earnings are good, but an increase does not mean that the profit margin of a company is improving. For instance, if a company has costs that have increased at a greater rate than sales, it leads to a lower profit margin. This is an indication that costs need to be under better control. Imagine a company has a net income of $10 million from sales of $100 million, giving it a profit margin of 10% ($10 million/$100 million). If in the next year net income rises to $15 million on sales of $200 million, the company's profit margin would fall to 7.5%. So while the company increased its net income, it has done so with diminishing profit margins. Definition of 'Return On Assets - ROA' An indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. ROA gives an idea as to how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings. Calculated by dividing a

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Ratios

Profitability Ratios.

company's annual earnings by its total assets, ROA is displayed as a percentage. Sometimes this is referred to as "return on investment". The formula for return on assets is:

Note: Some investors add interest expense back into net income when performing this calculation because they'd like to use operating returns before cost of borrowing. Investopedia explains 'Return On Assets - ROA': ROA tells you what earnings were generated from invested capital (assets). ROA for public companies can vary substantially and will be highly dependent on the industry. This is why when using ROA as a comparative measure, it is best to compare it against a company's previous ROA numbers or the ROA of a similar company. The assets of the company are comprised of both debt and equity. Both of these types of financing are used to fund the operations of the company. The ROA figure gives investors an idea of how effectively the company is converting the money it has to invest into net income. The higher the ROA number, the better, because the company is earning more money on less investment. For example, if one company has a net income of $1 million and total assets of $5 million, its ROA is 20%; however, if another company earns the same amount but has total assets of $10 million, it has an ROA of 10%. Based on this example, the first company is better at converting its investment into profit. When you really think about it, management's most important job is to make wise choices in allocating its resources. Anybody can make a profit by throwing a ton of money at a problem, but very few managers excel at making large profits with little investment. Definition of 'Return On Equity - ROE': The amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. Return on equity measures a corporation's profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested. ROE is expressed as a percentage and calculated as: Return on Equity = Net Income/Shareholder's Equity Net income is for the full fiscal year (before dividends paid to common stock holders but after dividends to preferred stock.) Shareholder's equity does not include preferred shares. Also known as "return on net worth" (RONW).

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Ratios

Profitability Ratios.

Investopedia explains 'Return On Equity - ROE': The ROE is useful for comparing the profitability of a company to that of other firms in the same industry. There are several variations on the formula that investors may use: 1. Investors wishing to see the return on common equity may modify the formula above by subtracting preferred dividends from net income and subtracting preferred equity from shareholders' equity, giving the following: return on common equity (ROCE) = net income preferred dividends / common equity. 2. Return on equity may also be calculated by dividing net income by average shareholders' equity. Average shareholders' equity is calculated by adding the shareholders' equity at the beginning of a period to the shareholders' equity at period's end and dividing the result by two. 3. Investors may also calculate the change in ROE for a period by first using the shareholders' equity figure from the beginning of a period as a denominator to determine the beginning ROE. Then, the end-of-period shareholders' equity can be used as the denominator to determine the ending ROE. Calculating both beginning and ending ROEs allows an investor to determine the change in profitability over the period.

Definition of 'Return On Invested Capital - ROIC': A calculation used to assess a company's efficiency at allocating the capital under its control to profitable investments. The return on invested capital measure gives a sense of how well a company is using its money to generate returns. Comparing a company's return on capital (ROIC) with its cost of capital (WACC) reveals whether invested capital was used effectively. The general equation for ROIC is as follows:

Also known as "return on capital"

Investopedia explains 'Return On Invested Capital - ROIC': Total capital includes long-term debt, and common and preferred shares. Because some companies receive income from other sources or have other conflicting items in their net income, net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) may be used instead.

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Ratios

Profitability Ratios.

ROIC is always calculated as a percentage. Invested capital can be in buildings, projects, machinery, other companies etc. One downside of return on capital is that it tells nothing about where the return is being generated. For example, it does not specify whether it is from continuing operations or from a one-time event, such as a gain from foreign currency transactions.