ExlService Holdings (NASDAQ:EXLS) has had a rough three months with its share price down 5.5%. 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to ExlService Holdings' ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 ExlService Holdings is:
21% = US$216m ÷ US$1.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.21.
Check out our latest analysis for ExlService Holdings
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
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.
ExlService Holdings' Earnings Growth And 21% ROE
To start with, ExlService Holdings' ROE looks acceptable. Even when compared to the industry average of 20% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This certainly adds some context to ExlService Holdings' moderate 20% net income growth seen over the past five years.
We then compared ExlService Holdings' 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 11% in the same 5-year period.
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. What is EXLS worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether EXLS is currently mispriced by the market.
Is ExlService Holdings Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Given that ExlService Holdings doesn't pay any regular dividends to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with ExlService Holdings' performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.
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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.