Should You Be Impressed By Merck & Co., Inc.'s (NYSE:MRK) ROE?

NYSE:MRK).” data-reactid=”28″>Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). By way of learning-by-doing, we’ll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK).

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Merck ” data-reactid=”30″> View our latest analysis for Merck

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Merck is:

38% = US$11b ÷ US$28b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

The ‘return’ refers to a company’s earnings over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders’ equity, the company generated $0.38 in profit.

Does Merck Have A Good ROE?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company’s ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Merck has a better ROE than the average (15%) in the Pharmaceuticals industry.

risks dashboard for free.” data-reactid=”55″>That’s what we like to see. With that said, a high ROE doesn’t always indicate high profitability. Aside from changes in net income, a high ROE can also be the outcome of high debt relative to equity, which indicates risk. To know the 2 risks we have identified for Merck visit our risks dashboard for free.

The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won’t affect the total equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.

Combining Merck’s Debt And Its 38% Return On Equity

It’s worth noting the high use of debt by Merck, leading to its debt to equity ratio of 1.08. There’s no doubt the ROE is impressive, but it’s worth keeping in mind that the metric could have been lower if the company were to reduce its debt. Debt does bring extra risk, so it’s only really worthwhile when a company generates some decent returns from it.

Conclusion

Return on equity is one way we can compare its business quality of different companies. In our books, the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

report on analyst forecasts for the company.” data-reactid=”62″>Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you’ll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth — and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.