Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE = Net Income / Avg Shareholders' Equity. Profitability per dollar of equity.

Inputs

Result

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How to use this calculator

  • Get net income + average equity from filings.
  • Decompose by DuPont if comparing across companies.

About this calculator

ROE measures how efficiently a company generates profit from shareholders' equity. >15% is strong; >25% excellent (often unsustainable long-term). DuPont decomposition: ROE = Net Margin × Asset Turnover × Equity Multiplier — separates operating efficiency, asset efficiency, and leverage. High ROE driven by leverage (high D/E) is risk-amplified, not productivity. Apple sustains 100%+ ROE; most companies hover 10-20%.

Frequently asked

Why "average" equity?+
Equity changes during the year. Use beginning + ending / 2 for less noise than year-end snapshot.
High ROE always good?+
No — high leverage inflates ROE without operational improvement. Check D/E alongside ROE.
DuPont decomposition?+
ROE = (NI/Sales) × (Sales/Assets) × (Assets/Equity). Margin × turnover × leverage. Reveals why ROE is high.
Industry norms?+
Banks: 10-15%. Utilities: 8-12%. Tech: 15-30%. Apple/Nvidia: 50-100%+ (hard to sustain).
Negative equity = ?+
ROE meaningless. Indicates company has burned through paid-in capital with cumulative losses.

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EBITDA = Net Income + Interest + Tax + D&A. Operating earnings before financing + non-cash items.
Free Cash Flow (FCF)
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Current Ratio
Current ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities. Liquidity benchmark.
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D/E = Total Debt / Total Equity. Leverage relative to ownership.
WACC Calculator
WACC = (E/V)·Re + (D/V)·Rd·(1−T). Blended cost of capital weighted by debt + equity.

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