With its stock down 25% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Lubawa (WSE:LBW). But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Lubawa's ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
Return on equity 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 Lubawa is:
18% = zł99m ÷ zł536m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every PLN1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated PLN0.18 in profit.
View our latest analysis for Lubawa
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
At first glance, Lubawa seems to have a decent ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. Probably as a result of this, Lubawa was able to see an impressive net income growth of 38% over the last five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Lubawa's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 27% 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. If you're wondering about Lubawa's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Lubawa doesn't pay any regular dividends to its shareholders, meaning that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This is likely what's driving the high earnings growth number discussed above.
In total, we are pretty happy with Lubawa's 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. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Not to forget, share price outcomes are also dependent on the potential risks a company may face. So it is important for investors to be aware of the risks involved in the business. You can see the 1 risk we have identified for Lubawa by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.
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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.