Days Sales of Inventory

Definition of 'Days Sales Of Inventory - DSI' A financial measure of a company's performance that gives investors an idea of how long it takes a company to turn its inventory (including goods that are work in progress, if applicable) into sales. Generally, the lower (shorter) the DSI the better, but it is important to note that the average DSI varies from one industry to another. Here is how the DSI is calculated:

Also known as days inventory outstanding (DIO). Investopedia explains 'Days Sales Of Inventory - DSI' This measure is one part of the cash conversion cycle, which represents the process of turning raw materials into cash. The days sales of inventory is the first stage in that process. The other two stages are days sales outstanding and days payable outstanding. The first measures how long it takes a company to receive payment on accounts receivable, while the second measures how long it takes a company to pay off its accounts payable.

Asset Turnover
Definition of 'Asset Turnover'
The amount of sales generated for every dollar's worth of assets. It is calculated by dividing sales in dollars by assets in dollars. Formula:

This ratio is more useful for growth companies to check if in fact they are growing revenue in proportion to sales. Also known as the Asset Turnover Ratio.

Return on Assets
Definition of 'Return On Assets - ROA'
An indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. ROA gives an idea as to how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings. Calculated by dividing a company's annual earnings by its total assets, ROA is displayed as a percentage. Sometimes this is referred to as "return on investment". The formula for return on assets is:

Note: Some investors add interest expense back into net income when performing this calculation because they'd like to use operating returns before cost of borrowing.

Investopedia explains 'Return On Assets - ROA'

ROA tells you what earnings were generated from invested capital (assets). ROA for public companies can vary substantially and will be highly dependent on the industry. This is why when using ROA as a comparative measure, it is best to compare it against a company's previous ROA numbers or the ROA of a similar company. The assets of the company are comprised of both debt and equity. Both of these types of financing are used to fund the operations of the company. The ROA figure gives investors an idea of how effectively the company is converting the money it has to invest into net income. The higher the ROA number, the better, because the company is earning more money on less investment. For example, if one company has a net income of $1 million and total assets of $5 million, its ROA is 20%; however, if another company earns the same amount but has total assets of $10 million, it has an ROA of 10%. Based on this example, the first company is better at converting its investment into profit. When you really think about it, management's most important job is to make wise choices in allocating its resources. Anybody can make a profit by throwing a ton of money at a problem, but very few managers excel at making large profits with little investment. Things to Remember

The ROA is often referred to as ROI We add the interest expense to ignore the costs associated with funding those assets.

Return on Equity
Definition of 'Return On Equity - ROE'
The amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. Return on equity measures a corporation's profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested. ROE is expressed as a percentage and calculated as: Return on Equity = Net Income/Shareholder's Equity Net income is for the full fiscal year (before dividends paid to common stock holders but after dividends to preferred stock.) Shareholder's equity does not include preferred shares. Also known as "return on net worth" (RONW).

Investopedia explains 'Return On Equity - ROE'

The ROE is useful for comparing the profitability of a company to that of other firms in the same industry. There are several variations on the formula that investors may use: 1. Investors wishing to see the return on common equity may modify the formula above by subtracting preferred dividends from net income and subtracting preferred equity from shareholders' equity, giving the following: return on common equity (ROCE) = net income preferred dividends / common equity. 2. Return on equity may also be calculated by dividing net income by average shareholders' equity. Average shareholders' equity is calculated by adding the shareholders' equity at the beginning of a period to the shareholders' equity at period's end and dividing the result by two. 3. Investors may also calculate the change in ROE for a period by first using the shareholders' equity figure from the beginning of a period as a denominator to determine the beginning ROE. Then, the end-of-period shareholders' equity can be used as the denominator to determine the ending ROE. Calculating both beginning and ending ROEs allows an investor to determine the change in profitability over the period. Things to Remember If new shares are issued then use the weighted average of the number of shares throughout the year.

For high growth companies you should expect a higher ROE. Averaging ROE over the past 5 to 10 years can give you a better idea of the historical growth.

Profit Margin
Definition of 'Profit Margin'
A ratio of profitability calculated as net income divided by revenues, or net profits divided by sales. It measures how much out of every dollar of sales a company actually keeps in earnings. Profit margin is very useful when comparing companies in similar industries. A higher profit margin indicates a more profitable company that has better control over its costs compared to its competitors. Profit margin is displayed as a percentage; a 20\% profit margin, for example, means the company has a net income of $0.20 for each dollar of sales. Also known as Net Profit Margin

Investopedia explains 'Profit Margin'

Looking at the earnings of a company often doesn't tell the entire story. Increased earnings are good, but an increase does not mean that the profit margin of a company is improving. For instance, if a company has costs that have increased at a greater rate than sales, it leads to a lower profit margin. This is an indication that costs need to be under better control. Imagine a company has a net income of $10 million from sales of $100 million, giving it a profit margin of 10% ($10 million/$100 million). If in the next year net income rises to $15 million on sales of $200 million, the company's profit margin would fall to 7.5%. So while the company increased its net income, it has done so with diminishing profit margins. Things to remember This ratio is not useful for companies losing money, since they have no profit.

A low profit margin can indicate pricing strategy and/or the impact competition has on margins.

Dupont
Definition of 'DuPont Identity'
An expression that breaks return on equity (ROE) down into three parts: profit margin, total asset turnover and financial leverage. It is also known as "DuPont Analysis". DuPont identity tells us that ROE is affected by three things: - Operating efficiency, which is measured by profit margin - Asset use efficiency, which is measured by total asset turnover - Financial leverage, which is measured by the equity multiplier ROE = Profit Margin (Profit/Sales) * Total Asset Turnover (Sales/Assets) * Equity Multiplier (Assets/Equity)

Investopedia explains 'DuPont Identity'

If ROE is unsatisfactory, the Du Pont identity helps locate the part of the business that is underperforming. Here is how the DuPont identity is derived: ROE = NI/TE Multiply by 1 (TA/TA) and then rearrange ROE = (NI / TE) (TA / TA) ROE = (NI / TA) (TA / TE) = ROA * EM Multiply by 1(S/S) and then rearrange ROE = (NI / TA) (TA / TE) (S/S) ROE = (NI / S) (S / TA) (TA / TE) ROE = PM * TAT * EM ROE = Profit Margin * Total Asset Turnover * Equity Multiplier When: ROE = Return on Equity NI = Net Income TE = Total Equity TA = Assets ROA = Return on Assets EM = TA/TE = 1 + D/E = The Equity Multiplier S = Sales