Is Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited's (NSE:DRREDDY) Latest Stock Performance Being Led By Its Strong Fundamentals?

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' (NSE:DRREDDY) stock up by 2.8% over the past month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

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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 Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is:

16% = ₹58b ÷ ₹362b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ₹0.16 in profit.

See our latest analysis for Dr. Reddy's Laboratories

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' Earnings Growth And 16% ROE

To begin with, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 12% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This probably laid the ground for Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' significant 25% net income growth seen over the past five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 12% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 12% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (88%) of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.

Additionally, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 15% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected increase in the payout ratio explains the expected decline in the company's ROE to 12%, over the same period.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' performance has been quite good. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. 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.

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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.