Margins & Ratios

What is return on assets?

Profit earned for each dollar of assets the company controls.

How it is calculated

Net income divided by average total assets.

How to read it

Useful for asset-heavy businesses and banks, where equity-based returns are distorted by leverage.

Keep in mind

Uses the average of the opening and closing balance, so the first period in a company’s history shows no figure.

Where the numbers come from

Scrutar computes return on assets from the figures each company reports to the SEC in its annual and quarterly filings, using the XBRL data attached to those filings.

More Margins & Ratios metrics

Gross MarginThe share of each dollar of revenue left after the direct cost of what was sold.How to read it →Operating MarginThe share of revenue that becomes operating profit after all running costs.How to read it →Net MarginThe share of revenue that ends up as net income.How to read it →Return on EquityProfit earned for each dollar of shareholder equity.How to read it →Current RatioWhether near-term assets cover near-term obligations.How to read it →Debt/EquityHow much the company relies on borrowed money relative to equity.How to read it →Quick RatioWhether the company can cover its near-term bills without selling inventory.How to read it →Asset TurnoverHow much revenue each dollar of assets generates.How to read it →

See it for a real company

Ten years of return on assets and every other metric on this page, for every company Scrutar covers, computed from SEC filings.

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