Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) has had a rough month with its share price down 14%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Alpha Metallurgical Resources' ROE today.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. 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 Alpha Metallurgical Resources

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Alpha Metallurgical Resources is:

22% = US$366m ÷ US$1.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.22 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. 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.

Alpha Metallurgical Resources' Earnings Growth And 22% ROE

To begin with, Alpha Metallurgical Resources seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 11%. This certainly adds some context to Alpha Metallurgical Resources' exceptional 44% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Alpha Metallurgical Resources' growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 23% 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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Alpha Metallurgical Resources fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Alpha Metallurgical Resources Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 2.5%, meaning that it has the remaining 98% left over to reinvest into its business. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.

Additionally, Alpha Metallurgical Resources has paid dividends over a period of three years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Alpha Metallurgical Resources' performance. 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. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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.