This 3rd component of this series centers on another crucial component of Warren Buffett's enormously successful methodology – return on equity (ROE). Nowadays, you might have used the term "return on equity" earlier. It is not a comparatively novel concept, and it's something that is typically applied in finance. Nevertheless, its importance must not be underestimated.
It's one thing to know what "return on equity" is, while it's another thing to know how to use it to a hugely positive effect. In other words, Warren Buffett uses a tool that is used by basically everyone in the industry, however, he uses it in a way that no one else does, and this is the lesson that all investors should learn from.
Firstly, I will address the definition of return on equity. ROE simply constitutes the earnings of a company divided by shareholder's equity. ROE is also frequently called the "stockholder's return on investment." because it reveals the rate at which shareholders are bringing in income on their shares. This rate can be considered both good or bad, however this is largely dependent on the company and industry.
For instance, a low ROE is ackowledged as being bad for a consulting firm because it is in an industry that doesn't involve assets to start rendering revenue. On the contrary, a low ROE would be considered pretty reasonable in the oil industry because it's an industry that necessitates various components of infrastructure to start rendering revenue.
Nevertheless, the type of company or sector is by and large not relevant in this component of Warren Buffett's methodology (even so, there's an exception which is covered in Part One). The reason why ROE is of crucial importance to him is to ascertain whether or not a company experiences a consistent performance in comparison with other companies in the same sector. The key word here is consistency. Buffett will always opt for a company that has a coherent ROE over one that has an ROE that endlessly wavers. As a matter of fact companies, which hinge on the commodities such as petroleum and gas, don't make up his favourites list and commonly have a mostly fluctuating ROE. This point is covered in Part One of this series.
A sound time frame for studying the ROE of a company is 5 to 10 years. Such a period of time will give you a reasonable indication of the historical performance of the company. A good idea is to access past financial reports of chosen companies, most of which typically have their reports uploaded on their website. Additionally, it would be effective to enquiry and find the average ROE of chosen sectors to compare company performances.
The next part of this series will focus on another important element of Buffett's methodology – debt/equity ratio, and how many investors frequently overlook it. Watch this space!
