ROA
Return on Assets · ROA
How much profit the company generates from each dollar of assets on the balance sheet — a measure of the efficiency of total asset utilization.
What it is
ROA = Net Income / Total Assets × 100%
ROA tells you how efficiently the company converts its assets into profit. It includes total assets — both equity and debt.
- →ROA = profit / total assets (does not account for financing structure)
- →ROIC = operating profit after tax / invested capital (the purest efficiency measure)
- →ROE = net income / equity (shareholder view, affected by leverage)
Typical ROA values:
- →Tech/software companies: 10–20%
- →Banks: 0.5–2% (but they work with enormous leverage)
- →Retail: 3–8%
- →Manufacturing: 4–10%
DuPont decomposition of ROA: ROA = Net Margin × Asset Turnover A company with a high margin and low turnover (luxury, software) or low margin and high turnover (retail, distribution) can achieve the same ROA via different paths.
Why track it
ROA is useful when comparing companies with different capital structures — unlike ROE it is not affected by how leveraged the company is. Monitor the ROA trend over time — declining ROA alongside growing assets signals declining efficiency.
Especially important in acquisition strategies: if the company is buying new businesses and total assets are growing but ROA is falling, acquisitions are not generating adequate returns.
Real-world example
Microsoft FY2025:
- →Net income: $87.3B
- →Total assets: ~$500B
- →ROA ≈ 17.5% — exceptionally high for a company of this size
Comparison: Apple ROA ~25% (extremely efficient), Amazon ROA ~4%, Walmart ROA ~6%.