Axcelis Technologies, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ACLS) Stock Is Going Strong: Is the Market Following Fundamentals?

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 37% over the last three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Axcelis Technologies' ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for Axcelis Technologies

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Axcelis Technologies is:

10% = US$50m ÷ US$482m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 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 $0.10 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. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.

Axcelis Technologies' Earnings Growth And 10% ROE

At first glance, Axcelis Technologies seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 8.4% seen over the past five years by Axcelis Technologies.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Axcelis Technologies' reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 14% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Has the market priced in the future outlook for ACLS? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Axcelis Technologies Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Axcelis Technologies' performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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