蝌蚪久久「キウイと聞きまちがえたんじゃないかな」と僕は言ってみた。　　“大同这个地方处于农牧交错带，它的生态是脆弱的，经不起大的消耗。迁都之后，自然就不再那么繁华。而开窟尤其开大石窟，一定是要有经济基础的。”杭侃说，云冈石窟的衰微背后有着多重因素：“另一方面，不同时期的信仰会有不同的形式，宋代以后佛教更多的民间化、世俗化，国家也不再把开窟造像当成一个凝聚社会共识的手段。此外，到辽代时已经没有地方开窟了，所以像第11窟中辽代补凿的造像只能利用没有完成的壁面。”e5uFfv-vGOsOEyvTW83WejNJPf-安进公司（纳斯达克股票代码：AMGN）是值得拥有的高质量股票吗？

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN).

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Amgen is:

75% = US$3.8b ÷ US$5.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.75.

Does Amgen Have A Good ROE?

One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. Pleasingly, Amgen has a superior ROE than the average (15%) in the Biotechs industry.

NasdaqGS:AMGN Return on Equity May 27th 2024

That is a good sign. With that said, a high ROE doesn't always indicate high profitability. Especially when a firm uses high levels of debt to finance its debt which may boost its ROE but the high leverage puts the company at risk. Our risks dashboardshould have the 3 risks we have identified for Amgen.

The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.

Combining Amgen's Debt And Its 75% Return On Equity

It appears that Amgen makes extensive use of debt to improve its returns, because it has an alarmingly high debt to equity ratio of 12.75. While its ROE is no doubt quite impressive, it could give a false impression about the company's returns given that its huge debt could be boosting those returns.

Conclusion

Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. In our books, the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So you might want to check this FREE visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: Amgen may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.