ROA and ROE: Give Clear Picture Of Corporate Health

Cả hai chỉ số này đều đo lường mức độ thu hồi (return) từ các khoản đầu tư (investment) và cùng nhau tạo nên một bức tranh rõ ràng về hiệu quả công ty

ROE: lãi trên vốn cổ đông là chỉ số quan trọng cần xem đầu tiên. Nó nói lên mức độ hiệu quả mà công ty sử dụng đồng vốn của cổ đông. Nếu lớn có nghĩ là công ty sử dụng vốn hiệu quả
Công thức tính: thu nhập ròng (net income)/tổng vốn cổ đông (trung bình)

Annual Net Income            Average Shareholders' Equity

Let's calculate ROE for the fictional company Ed's Carpets. Ed's 2009 income statement puts its net income at $3.822 billion. On the balance sheet, you'll find total stockholder equity for 209 was $25.268 billion; in 2008 it was $6.814 billion.

To calculate ROE, average shareholders' equity for 2009 and 2008 ($25.268bn + $6.814bn / 2 = $16.041 bn), and divide net income for 2009 ($3.822 billion) by that average. You will arrive at a return on equity of 0.23, or 23%. This tells us that in 2009 Ed's Carpets generated a 23% profit on every dollar invested by shareholders.
Rất nhiều nhà đầu tư tìm kiếm công ty với chỉ số ROE ít nhất 15% (15% as their minimum acceptable ROE when evaluating investment candidates)
ROE nên được hiểu như thế nào?
ROE là một chỉ báo hữu ích bởi vì nó cho biết khả năng sinh lợi của công ty mag không cần phải bổ sung thêm vốn. Một chỉ số ROE tăng đều đặn là dấu hiệu cho thấy ban lãnh đạo công ty đang đem lại cho cổ đông nhiều tiền hơn. Tuy nhiên, ROE cũng chỉ ra công ty ko thể vượt qua mức tăng trưởng của chỉ số ROE nếu như ko bổ sung thêm vốn (vay hoặc phát hành thêm cổ phiếu). Nhưng việc tăng vốn sẽ có giá của nó: phí đi vay sẽ làm tăng nợ và giảm  net income cũng như tăng lượng phát hành sẽ làm giảm thu nhập trên mỗi cổ phiếu (earnings per share) do việc tăng số lượng cổ phiếu phát hành shares outstanding. Do vậy, ROE là giới hạn tốc độ tăng trưởng của công ty.
ROE không phải chỉ số hoàn hảo
ROE thậm chí còn tăng khi thương số của công thức - vốn cổ đông giảm hoặc phân bổ một khoản chi phí lớn cho nhiều năm hoặc mua lại cổ phiếu làm cổ phiếu quỹ. Ngoài ra ROE không cho biết nếu công ty có một khoản nợ lớn quá mức hoặc đang vay mượn thêm thay vì phát hành cổ phiếu. Nên nhớ rằng, vốn cổ đông là loại tài sản phải trả sau nợ (kể cả ngắn và dài hạn). Do đó, nợ tăng -> vốn giảm -> ROE tăng. Hơn thế, ROE quá cao sẽ dẫn đến một số vấn đề trong tương lai
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If, for instance, a company takes a large write-down, the reduction in income (ROE's numerator) occurs only in the year that the expense is charged; the write-down therefore makes a more significant dent in shareholder equity (the denominator) in the following years, causing an overall rise in the ROE without any improvement in the company's operations. Having a similar effect as write-downs, share buy-backs also normally depress shareholders' equity proportionately far more than they depress earnings. As a result, buy-backs also give an artificial boost to ROE. (For related reading, see How Buybacks Warp The Price-To-Book Ratio.)

Suppose that two firms have the same amount of assets ($1,000) and the same net income ($120) but different levels of debt: Firm A has $500 in debt and therefore $500 in shareholder's equity ($1,000 - $500), and Firm B has $200 in debt and $800 in shareholder's equity ($1,000 - $200). Firm A shows an ROE of 24% ($120/$500) while Firm B, with less debt, shows an ROE of 15% ($120/$800). As ROE equals net income divided by the equity figure, Firm A, the higher-debt firm, shows the highest return on equity.

This company looks as though it has higher profitability when really it just has more demanding obligations to its creditors. Its higher ROE may therefore be simply a mask of future problems. For a more transparent view that helps you see through this mask, make sure you also examine the company's return on invested capital (ROIC), which reveals the extent to which debt drives returns.

Another pitfall of ROE concerns the way in which intangible assets are excluded from shareholder's equity. Generally conservative, the accounting profession normally omits a company's possession of things like trademarks, brand names, and patents from asset and equity-based calculations. As a result, shareholder equity often gets understated in relation to its value, and, in turn, ROE calculations can be misleading.

A company with no assets other than a trademark is an extreme example of a situation in which accounting's exclusion of intangibles would distort ROE. After adjusting for intangibles, the company would be left with no assets and probably no shareholder equity base. ROE measured this way would be astronomical but would offer little guidance for investors looking to gauge earnings efficiency.

Conclusion
Let's face it, no single metric can provide a perfect tool for examining fundamentals. But contrasting the five-year average ROEs within a specific industrial sector does highlight companies with competitive advantage and with a knack for delivering shareholder value.
Think of ROE as a handy tool for identifying industry leaders. A high ROE can signal unrecognized value potential, so long as you know where the ratio's numbers are coming from.

ROA : lãi trên tổng tài sản là một chỉ số khác đo lường hiệu quả quản lý của doanh nghiệp. Nó nói lên mức độ kiếm lời trên mỗi đồng tài sản của doanh nghiệp (bao gồm tiền mặt, tiền gửi ngân hàng, khoản phải thu, BDDS, thiết bị máy móc, tài sản,..)

Annual Net Income            Total Assets

Some analysts take earnings before interest and taxation, and divide over total assets:

ROA = EBIT/Total Assets

This is a pure measure of the efficiency of a company in generating returns from its assets, without being affected by management financing decisions.
Let's look at Ed's again. You already know that it earned $3.822 billion in 2009, and you can find total assets on the balance sheet. In 2009, Ed's Carpets' total assets amounted to $448.507 billion. Its net income divided by total assets gives a return on assets of 0.0085, or 0.85%. This tells us that in 2009 Ed's Carpets earned less than 1% profit on the resources it owned.

Với ví dụ trên, ROA nói lên câu chuyện hoàn toàn khác. Chỉ một vài nhà quản lý đầu tư chuyên nghiệp cân nhắc các cổ phiếu với ROA < 5%.

Either way, the result is reported as a percentage rate of return. An ROA of, say, 20% means that the company produces $1 of profit for every $5 it has invested in its assets. You can see that ROA gives a quick indication of whether the business is continuing to earn an increasing profit on each dollar of investment. Investors expect that good management will strive to increase the ROA - to extract greater profit from every dollar of assets at its disposal.
Một chỉ số ROA đi xuống có thể là dấu hiệu rắc rối, đặc biệt đối với các cty tăng trưởng nhanh. Nỗ lực tăng trưởng bán hàng thường dẫn đến đầu tư vào tài sản bao gồm các khoản phải thu, hàng tồn kho, thiết bị và nhà xưởng. Một khi nhu cầu giảm sẽ làm cho các cty này bị lâm vào tình trạng đầu tư quá mức vào tài sản và ko thể bán được hàng -> thảm họa tài chính
Hàng rào ROA - ROA Hurdles


Nên so sánh ROA với các chỉ số lãi suất đi vay của các khoản nợ, ROA phải lớn hơn lãi suất đi vay mới có ý nghĩa. Tương tự, đo lường ROA xem có lớn hơn chi phí vốn (cost of capital) bỏ ra để xem kế hoạch tăng trưởng, sát nhập, mở rộng của công ty thực sự hiệu quả ko, đáng làm ko (đầu tư nhiều nhưng thu về ko đáng kể).
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Expressed as a percentage, ROA identifies the rate of return needed to determine whether investing in a company makes sense. Measured against common hurdle rates like the interest rate on debt and cost of capital, ROA tells investors whether the company's performance stacks up.
Compare ROA to the interest rates companies pay on their debts: if a company is squeezing out less from its investments than what it's paying to finance those investments, that's not a positive sign. By contrast, an ROA that is better than the cost of debt means that the company is pocketing the difference.
Similarly, investors can weigh ROA against the company's cost of capital to get a sense of realized returns on the company's growth plans. A company that embarks on expansions or acquisitions that create shareholder value should achieve an ROA that exceeds the costs of capital; otherwise, those projects are likely not worth pursuing. Moreover, it's important that investors ask how a company's ROA compares to those of its competitors and to the industry average. (Read Looking Deeper Into Capital Allocation for more information.)
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Phân tích kỹ hơn về ROA
Có thể viết lại công tức ROA thành
ROA = (Net Income/Revenue) X (Revenues/Average Total Assets)
Nếu ROA tăng, hoặc thu nhập ròng tăng hoặc tổng tài sản TB giảm. Để tăng ROA: hoặc tăng lợi nhuận biên hoặc hiệu quả hơn là quay vòng tài sản tối đa để tăng lượng bán hàng
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There is another, much more informative way to calculate ROA. If we treat ROA as a ratio of net profits over total assets, then two telling factors determine the final figure: net profit margin (net income divided by revenue) and asset turnover (revenues divided by average total assets).

A company can arrive at a high ROA either by boosting its profit margin or, more efficiently, by using its assets to increase sales. Say a company has an ROA of 24%. Investors can determine whether that ROA is driven by, say, a profit margin of 6% and asset turnover of four times, or a profit margin of 12% and an asset turnover of two times. By knowing what's typical in the company's industry, investors can determine whether or not a company is performing up to par.
This also helps clarify the different strategic paths companies may pursue - whether a low-margin, high-volume producer or a high-margin, low-volume competitor.
ROA also resolves a major shortcoming of return on equity (ROE). ROE is arguably the most widely used profitability metric, but many investors quickly recognize that it doesn't tell you if a company has excessive debt or is using debt to drive returns. Investors can get around that conundrum by using ROA instead. The ROA denominator - total assets - includes liabilities like debt (remember total assets = liabilities + shareholder equity). Consequently, everything else being equal, the lower the debt, the higher the ROA. (Read A Breakdown Of Stock Buybacks for more background information.)

A Couple Things to Watch For Still, ROA is far from being the ideal investment evaluation tool. There are a couple of reasons why it can't always be trusted. For starters, the 'return' numerator of net income is suspect (as always), given the deficiencies of accrual-based earnings and the use of managed earnings.
Also, since the assets in question are the sort that are valued on the balance sheet - namely, fixed assets and not intangible assets like people or ideas - ROA is not always useful for comparing one company against another. Some companies are 'lighter', having their value based on things such as trademarks, brand names and patents, which accounting rules don't recognize as assets. A software maker, for instance, will have far fewer assets on the balance sheet than a car maker. As a result, the software company's assets will be understated, and its ROA may get a questionable boost.
Conclusion
ROA gives investors a reliable picture of management's ability to pull profits from the assets and projects into which it chooses to invest. The metric also provides a good line of sight into net margins and asset turnover - two key performance drivers. ROA makes the job of fundamental analysis easier, helping investors recognize good stock opportunities and minimizing the likelihood of unpleasant surprises.

+ Sự khác biệt ở chỗ các khoản nợ phải trả (Liabilities)
Công thức: assets = liabilities + shareholders' equity
The big factor that separates ROE and ROA is financial leverage (đòn bẩy tài chính), or debt (nợ)

Nếu ko có nợ thì tổng tài sản = vốn cổ đông -> ROA = ROE. Nhưng khi công ty sử dụng đòn bẩy tài chính (tức là đi vay) để mở rộng hoạt động kinh doanh thì ROE sẽ tăng lên so với ROA
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The balance sheet equation - if expressed differently - can help us see the reason for this: shareholders' equity = assets - liabilities. By taking on debt, a company increases its assets thanks to the cash that comes in. But since equity equals assets minus total debt, a company decreases its equity by increasing debt. In other words, when debt increases, equity shrinks, and since equity is the ROE's denominator, ROE, in turn, gets a boost. At the same time, when a company takes on debt, the total assets - the denominator of ROA - increase. So, debt amplifies ROE in relation to ROA.

Ed's balance sheet should reveal why the company's return on equity and return on assets were so different. The carpet-maker carried an enormous amount of debt - which kept its assets high while reducing shareholders' equity. In 2009, it had total liabilities that exceeded $422 billion - more than 16 times its total shareholders' equity of $25.268 billion.

Because ROE weighs net income only against owners' equity, it doesn't say much about how well a company uses its financing from borrowing and bonds. Such a company may deliver an impressive ROE without actually being more effective at using the shareholders' equity to grow the company. ROA - because its denominator includes both debt and equity - can help you see how well a company puts both these forms of financing to use.

Kết luận: hãy xem xét cả ROE và ROA.
Nếu nợ ở mức hợp lý (xem thêm một số chỉ số căn bản về nợ khác như hệ số thanh toán nhanh, tỷ lệ nợ/vốn chủ sở hữu...) và ROA hợp lý thì chỉ số ROE cao thể hiện khả năng quản lý tốt. Nhưng nếu ROA thấp hoặc công ty mắc nợ nhiều thì ROE cao sẽ làm cho nhà đầu tư có ấn tượng sai về triển vọng công ty.
Nguồn: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/05/052005.asp
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental/03/100103.asp
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental/04/012804.asp