Cosmos Technology International Berhad (KLSE:COSMOS) has had a rough three months with its share price down 9.8%. It is possible that the markets have ignored the company’s differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Long-term fundamentals are usually what drive market outcomes, so it’s worth paying close attention. In this article, we decided to focus on Cosmos Technology International Berhad’s ROE.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders’ Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Cosmos Technology International Berhad is:
5.4% = RM2.3m ÷ RM43m (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2025).
The ‘return’ is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each MYR1 of shareholders’ capital it has, the company made MYR0.05 in profit.
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or “retains” for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don’t necessarily bear these characteristics.
It is hard to argue that Cosmos Technology International Berhad’s ROE is much good in and of itself. A comparison with the industry shows that the company’s ROE is pretty similar to the average industry ROE of 5.6%. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 10% seen by Cosmos Technology International Berhad over the last five years is not surprising.
That being said, we compared Cosmos Technology International Berhad’s performance with the industry and were concerned when we found that while the company has shrunk its earnings, the industry has grown its earnings at a rate of 8.9% in the same 5-year period.
KLSE:COSMOS Past Earnings Growth August 19th 2025
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock’s future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Cosmos Technology International Berhad is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Despite having a normal three-year median payout ratio of 31% (where it is retaining 69% of its profits), Cosmos Technology International Berhad has seen a decline in earnings as we saw above. It looks like there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.
In addition, Cosmos Technology International Berhad has been paying dividends over a period of three years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is preferred by the management even though earnings have been in decline.
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Cosmos Technology International Berhad. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Cosmos Technology International Berhad.
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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.