1. Definition
Return on shareholders’ investment ratio is a measure of overall profitability of the business and is computed by dividing the net income after interest and tax by average stockholders’ equity. It is also known as return on total equity (ROTE) ratio and return on net worth ratio. The ratio is usually expressed in percentage.

Return on total equity = Income after interest and tax / Total average stockholders’ equity

The numerator consists of net income after interest and tax because it is the amount of income available for common and preference stockholders. The denominator is the average of stockholders’ equity (preference and common stock). The information about net income after interest and tax is normally available from income statement and the information about preference and common stock is available from balance sheet.

Analysts usually prefer to use the average stockholders’ equity as denominator. The students can, however, use the closing figure of stockholders’ equity if the opening figure is not given in the question.

2. Example A
The following data has been extracted from the income statement and balance sheet of PQR limited:

Data extracted from income statement for the year ended December 31, 2016:

Data extracted from balance sheets as at December 31, 2015 and 2016:

Average stockholders’ equity = (Total stockholders’ equity of year 2015 + Total stockholders’ equity of year 2016) / 2
= (2400000 + 2550000) / 2
= 2475000

and

Return on shareholders’ investment ratio = Net income / Average stockholders’ equity
= 329500 / 2475000
= 0.1331

Return on total equity is used to measure the overall profitability of the company from preference and common stockholders’ point of view. The ratio also indicates the efficiency of the management in using the resources of the business.

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Higher ratio means higher return on shareholders’ investment and a lower ratio indicates otherwise. Investors always search for the higest return on their investment and a company that has higher ROE ratio than others in the industry attracts more investors.