With its stock down 10% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Capcom (TSE:9697). However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Specifically, we decided to study Capcom's ROE in this article.
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.
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 Capcom is:
25% = JP¥61b ÷ JP¥245b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every ¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ¥0.25.
See our latest analysis for Capcom
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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.
Firstly, we acknowledge that Capcom has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 11% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Probably as a result of this, Capcom was able to see a decent net income growth of 15% over the last five years.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Capcom's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 5.5% in the same period, which is great to see.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Capcom fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Capcom has a three-year median payout ratio of 34%, which implies that it retains the remaining 66% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Moreover, Capcom is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.
In total, we are pretty happy with Capcom's performance. 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. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.