Can a high Return on Equity be a sign of weakness rather than strength?

Yes. A firm with thin or negative book equity can post very high Return on Equity figures that reflect balance sheet stress more than operating excellence. Heavy buybacks funded by debt shrink equity while increasing interest expense, lifting the ratio even as the underlying business treads water. Decomposing Return on Equity into margin, turnover, and leverage reveals whether the figure is supported by profitable operations or manufactured through financial engineering.

Why does the DuPont decomposition matter for interpreting Return on Equity?

DuPont splits Return on Equity into three drivers: net margin, asset turnover, and equity multiplier. Two firms with identical Return on Equity can reach it in very different ways, one through fat margins and the other through high leverage on thin margins. The decomposition makes those paths visible and forces a more honest read of what Return on Equity is actually telling you about operating strength.

How does Return on Equity compare across industries?

Return on Equity varies structurally by industry because capital intensity, regulatory constraints, and typical financing differ widely. Asset-light services and software firms often show higher ratios than capital-intensive manufacturers or utilities, not because they are better businesses but because their equity base is smaller relative to earnings. Meaningful comparisons stay within a sector, with multi-year averages preferred over single-year snapshots to smooth cyclical effects.

Top 100 Stocks by Return on Equity

Top companies ranked by return on equity, latest annual filings.

What Return on Equity Means for US-listed Companies

Return on Equity divides net income by shareholder equity and measures how efficiently management turns the capital entrusted by owners into profit. Across US-listed firms the ratio offers a compact view of capital productivity, comparable across industries on a common footing, which is why it has been one of the most cited single numbers in fundamental analysis for as long as that discipline has existed.

Why Return on Equity Can Mislead

Return on Equity rewards durable profitability supported by pricing power, yet the ratio is easy to distort. The DuPont decomposition splits it into margin, asset turnover, and leverage, so a firm can lift reported Return on Equity simply by adding debt. Buybacks shrink the equity denominator, inflating the ratio without any real operating improvement, and companies with negative book value produce figures that are mathematically meaningless.

What to Read Alongside

Pair Return on Equity with Net Income to see the numerator in absolute terms, Long-term Debt to gauge how much leverage is inflating the ratio, and Gross Margin to judge the underlying earnings quality.

Data as of FY 2025 100 companies Rhea AI

#	Symbol	Company	Sector
1	GDDY	GoDaddy Inc.	Technology	406.79%	$12.44B
2	UNIT	Uniti Group Inc.	Real Estate	343.07%	$2.32B
3	VRSK	Verisk Analytics, Inc.	Industrials	293.95%	$22.38B
4	TNET	TriNet Group, Inc.	Industrials	287.04%	$3.06B
5	CLX	The Clorox Company	Consumer Defensive	252.34%	$10.54B
6	IT	Gartner, Inc.	Technology	227.88%	$11.29B
7	TPR	Tapestry, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	220.73%	$22.45B
8	NTNX	Nutanix, Inc.	Technology	214.48%	$18.74B
9	RH	RH	Consumer Cyclical	205.94%	$2.47B
10	CHH	Choice Hotels International, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	204.11%	$4.52B
11	MA	Mastercard Incorporated	Financial Services	193.46%	$486.97B
12	LYV	Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.	Communication Services	183.01%	$39.57B
13	RRR	Red Rock Resorts, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	170.72%	$2.88B
14	APP	AppLovin Corporation	Communication Services	156.18%	$110.01B
15	AAPL	Apple Inc.	Technology	151.91%	$4947.14B
16	FTAI	FTAI Aviation Ltd.	Industrials	149.94%	$19.49B
17	FTNT	Fortinet, Inc.	Technology	149.77%	$127.86B
18	STX	Seagate Technology Holdings plc	Technology	146.93%	$209.17B
19	MSGE	Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.	Communication Services	144.57%	$3.79B
20	ENR	Energizer Holdings, Inc.	Industrials	140.67%	$1.53B
21	WEN	The Wendy's Company	Consumer Cyclical	140.63%	$1.30B
22	BLKB	Blackbaud, Inc.	Technology	135.21%	$1.91B
23	KMB	Kimberly-Clark Corporation	Consumer Defensive	134.55%	$32.90B
24	LNW	Light & Wonder, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	112.65%	$7.03B
25	HD	The Home Depot, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	110.51%	$304.64B
26	EAT	Brinker International, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	109.76%	$8.64B
27	WDC	Western Digital Corporation	Technology	106.32%	$167.51B
28	FTDR	Frontdoor, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	105.37%	$5.32B
29	COR	Cencora, Inc.	Healthcare	103.06%	$60.00B
30	SPG	Simon Property Group, Inc.	Real Estate	102.99%	$66.64B
31	VIK	Viking Holdings Ltd	Consumer Cyclical	102.39%	$36.19B
32	LVS	Las Vegas Sands Corp.	Consumer Cyclical	102.33%	$25.71B
33	EXPE	Expedia Group, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	101.32%	$33.69B
34	CPRI	Capri Holdings Limited	Consumer Cyclical	98.75%	$1.73B
35	MEDP	Medpace Holdings, Inc.	Healthcare	98.27%	$17.59B
36	ITW	Illinois Tool Works Inc.	Industrials	95.04%	$77.03B
37	NTAP	NetApp, Inc.	Technology	94.45%	$37.89B
38	MSI	Motorola Solutions, Inc.	Technology	89.38%	$75.58B
39	AMGN	Amgen Inc.	Healthcare	89.06%	$221.79B
40	LYFT	Lyft, Inc.	Technology	86.88%	$5.64B
41	LNG	Cheniere Energy, Inc.	Energy	85.84%	$56.38B
42	IBKR	Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.	Financial Services	81.24%	$41.63B
43	HESM	Hess Midstream LP	Energy	80.59%	$5.03B
44	ZTS	Zoetis Inc.	Healthcare	78.27%	$30.11B
45	LLY	Eli Lilly and Company	Healthcare	77.78%	$1043.01B
46	BAH	Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation	Industrials	76.97%	$9.18B
47	NVDA	NVIDIA Corporation	Technology	76.33%	$5526.52B
48	KLAC	KLA Corporation	Technology	76.08%	$246.05B
49	MUSA	Murphy USA Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	75.48%	$9.34B
50	LMT	Lockheed Martin Corporation	Industrials	74.65%	$120.55B
51	ADP	Automatic Data Processing, Inc.	Technology	73.18%	$107.12B
52	SNDK	Sandisk Corporation	Technology	72.66%	$276.30B
53	AMT	American Tower Corporation	Real Estate	71.96%	$81.66B
54	BCO	The Brink's Company	Industrials	71.91%	$4.41B
55	BYD	Boyd Gaming Corporation	Consumer Cyclical	70.66%	$5.24B
56	MANH	Manhattan Associates, Inc.	Technology	69.88%	$12.07B
57	LII	Lennox International Inc.	Industrials	69.28%	$12.85B
58	MMM	3M Company	Industrials	69.12%	$87.31B
59	GFF	Griffon Corporation	Industrials	69.09%	$4.41B
60	HGTY	Hagerty, Inc.	Financial Services	67.43%	$1.51B
61	UI	Ubiquiti Inc.	Technology	66.68%	$35.16B
62	APAM	Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc.	Financial Services	66.15%	$2.55B
63	IDXX	IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.	Healthcare	65.99%	$41.08B
64	MTN	Vail Resorts, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	65.96%	$4.95B
65	SYY	Sysco Corporation	Consumer Defensive	65.90%	$37.73B
66	TRGP	Targa Resources Corp.	Energy	62.68%	$60.50B
67	VVV	Valvoline Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	62.25%	$3.66B
68	ADBE	Adobe Inc.	Technology	61.34%	$94.70B
69	MCO	Moody's Corporation	Financial Services	60.66%	$81.27B
70	PJT	PJT Partners Inc.	Financial Services	58.43%	$3.84B
71	LRCX	Lam Research Corporation	Technology	58.26%	$389.11B
72	WNC	Wabash National Corporation	Industrials	57.56%	$0.49B
73	LAMR	Lamar Advertising Company	Real Estate	57.30%	$14.74B
74	TDC	Teradata Corporation	Technology	56.52%	$2.74B
75	WMG	Warner Music Group Corp.	Communication Services	56.41%	$14.33B
76	THC	Tenet Healthcare Corporation	Healthcare	56.09%	$21.10B
77	SHW	The Sherwin-Williams Company	Basic Materials	55.86%	$79.71B
78	ATMU	Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	54.80%	$3.70B
79	DRI	Darden Restaurants, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	54.66%	$23.99B
80	AMP	Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	Financial Services	54.41%	$45.26B
81	CMG	Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	54.26%	$42.40B
82	TJX	The TJX Companies, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	53.91%	$143.87B
83	V	Visa Inc.	Financial Services	52.91%	$679.68B
84	TREE	LendingTree, Inc.	Financial Services	52.65%	$0.37B
85	WSM	Williams-Sonoma, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	52.24%	$27.41B
86	WU	The Western Union Company	Financial Services	52.16%	$1.94B
87	NRG	NRG Energy, Inc.	Utilities	51.40%	$21.60B
88	BLBD	Blue Bird Corporation	Industrials	50.00%	$1.87B
89	PEGA	Pegasystems Inc.	Technology	49.97%	$5.71B
90	BKE	The Buckle, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	49.39%	$2.15B
91	NBR	Nabors Industries Ltd.	Energy	48.52%	$1.27B
92	EXTR	Extreme Networks, Inc.	Technology	47.54%	$2.92B
93	PAYX	Paychex, Inc.	Technology	47.12%	$40.77B
94	GE	GE Aerospace	Industrials	46.60%	$331.21B
95	GWW	W.W. Grainger, Inc.	Industrials	45.66%	$59.75B
96	EBAY	eBay Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	45.30%	$48.63B
97	ATAT	Atour Lifestyle Holdings Limited	Consumer Cyclical	45.11%	$4.52B
98	CHWY	Chewy, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	44.75%	$7.90B
99	GEV	GE Vernova Inc.	Industrials	43.69%	$253.09B
100	JBL	Jabil Inc.	Technology	43.42%	$32.38B

Companies with return on equity above 500%, or shareholder equity below 1% of total assets, are excluded: when equity is near zero the ratio becomes unstable and unrepresentative. Ratio rankings also require at least $1B in annual revenue.

How this ranking is built

Companies are ranked by return on equity as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.

Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
Size floor: A company qualifies at $1 billion in annual revenue or above, so a small filer with a freak ratio cannot top the list.
Value range: Only figures above 0% and up to 500% qualify.
Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).

Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.