Why you should consider payback ratio along with P/E

Published: 14th Nov 2024

By: Value Research

But first, what is payback ratio?

It’s a financial metric that estimates how long a company will take to accumulate profits equal to its market capitalisation.

How it is calculated

You divide a company’s market cap by its estimated cumulative profit over the next 5 years. The ratio, thus, helps investors gauge the time it may take to recoup their investment based on future earnings.

Why consider payback ratio

While the P/E ratio is widely used to gauge a company’s valuation, it might not always suffice, especially for new-age companies with inflated multiples. The payback ratio, hence, gives insight into the sustainability of the business.

Most useful tools for investment

It’s subjective

Since future profits are uncertain, payback ratios can vary widely among investors depending on how conservative they are with their projections.

Is high payback ratio bad?

Not always. It may also signal that large firms with solid fundamentals may take decades to break even their enormous market cap. Similarly, low payback ratios, while appealing, often belong to smaller companies and may only reflect low market caps rather than profitability.

How do Indian companies fare?

We assessed payback ratios of Indian companies with a market cap of Rs 500 crore through a conservative approach. Check what we found from the link below.

Other Webstories

To find more such stories & Web-stories, visit our website