Return On Equity - ROE

What is 'Return On Equity - ROE'

Return on equity (ROE) is 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). 

BREAKING DOWN 'Return On Equity - ROE'

The ROE is useful for comparing the profitability of a company to that of other firms in the same industry. It illustrates who effective the company is at turning the cash put into the business into greater gains and growth for the company and investors. The higher the return on equity, the more efficient the company's operations are making use of those funds.

Learn more about Investopedia Academy's online course Find Great Value Stocks

[ Return on equity is one of the most commonly used metrics by fundamental analysis and value investors when looking for opportunities. If you're interested in learning about others, Investopedia's Fundamental Analysis Course provides a solid introduction to fundamental analysis strategies. You'll learn how to read financial statements, how to interpret financial ratios, and strategies used by financial professionals around the world in over five hours of on-demand video, exercises, and interactive content. ]

How Return on Equity is Determined

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.

For more on return on equity (ROE) read Are companies with a negative return on equity (ROE) always a bad investment? and ROA And ROE Give Clear Picture Of Corporate Health