U.S. Markets closed

What You Must Know About Genesis Energy LP’s (NYSE:GEL) 2.33% ROE

Kari Hurd

I am writing today to help inform people who are new to the stock market and looking to gauge the potential return on investment in Genesis Energy LP (NYSE:GEL).

Genesis Energy LP (NYSE:GEL) delivered a less impressive 2.33% ROE over the past year, compared to the 11.36% return generated by its industry. GEL’s results could indicate a relatively inefficient operation to its peers, and while this may be the case, it is important to understand what ROE is made up of and how it should be interpreted. Knowing these components could change your view on GEL’s performance. Today I will look at how components such as financial leverage can influence ROE which may impact the sustainability of GEL’s returns. Check out our latest analysis for Genesis Energy

What you must know about ROE

Return on Equity (ROE) is a measure of Genesis Energy’s profit relative to its shareholders’ equity. For example, if the company invests $1 in the form of equity, it will generate $0.023 in earnings from this. In most cases, a higher ROE is preferred; however, there are many other factors we must consider prior to making any investment decisions.

Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders Equity

Returns are usually compared to costs to measure the efficiency of capital. Genesis Energy’s cost of equity is 14.64%. This means Genesis Energy’s returns actually do not cover its own cost of equity, with a discrepancy of -12.31%. This isn’t sustainable as it implies, very simply, that the company pays more for its capital than what it generates in return. ROE can be broken down into three different ratios: net profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. This is called the Dupont Formula:

Dupont Formula

ROE = profit margin × asset turnover × financial leverage


ROE = annual net profit ÷ shareholders’ equity

NYSE:GEL Last Perf June 23rd 18

Essentially, profit margin shows how much money the company makes after paying for all its expenses. Asset turnover shows how much revenue Genesis Energy can generate with its current asset base. And finally, financial leverage is simply how much of assets are funded by equity, which exhibits how sustainable the company’s capital structure is. Since financial leverage can artificially inflate ROE, we need to look at how much debt Genesis Energy currently has. The debt-to-equity ratio currently stands at a balanced 138.16%, meaning the ROE is a result of its capacity to produce profit growth without a huge debt burden.

NYSE:GEL Historical Debt June 23rd 18

Next Steps:

ROE is a simple yet informative ratio, illustrating the various components that each measure the quality of the overall stock. Genesis Energy’s below-industry ROE is disappointing, furthermore, its returns were not even high enough to cover its own cost of equity. Although, its appropriate level of leverage means investors can be more confident in the sustainability of Genesis Energy’s return with a possible increase should the company decide to increase its debt levels. ROE is a helpful signal, but it is definitely not sufficient on its own to make an investment decision.

For Genesis Energy, I’ve put together three fundamental factors you should look at:

  2. Future Earnings: How does Genesis Energy’s growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
  3. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Genesis Energy? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

