ASX share price in focus
ASX Limited operates Australia’s primary national securities exchange. This includes the provision of securities exchange services, derivatives exchange services, central counterparty clearing services, and registry, settlement, and delivery-versus-payment clearing financial products.
The company provides access to a variety of different products, including shares, futures, exchange traded funds (ETFs), managed funds, and real estate investment trusts (REITs).
ASX operates at the heart of the Australian financial markets. It oversees compliance for listed companies and aims to promote a high standard of corporate governance and a fairer playing field for retail investors.
Let’s talk profits
Annual reports and income statements can be very complex and hard to get your head around as a new investor. While there are any number of figures you could pull from the income statement, three key ones are revenue, gross margin, and profit.
Revenue is sometimes referred to as the ‘top line’ – everything starts here. If you can’t generate revenue, you can’t generate profit. What we’re interested in is not so much the absolute number, but the trend. ASX last reported an annual revenue of $1,581m with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the last 3 years of 15.8% per year.
Gross margin is the next big number on the income statement. The gross margin tells us how profitable the core products/services are – before you take into account all the overhead costs, how much money does the company make from selling $100 worth of goods/services? ASX’s latest reported gross margin was 96.2%.
Finally, the number we’re most interested in – profit. Last financial year ASX Ltd reported a profit of $474m. That compares to 3 years ago when they made a profit of $481m, representing a CAGR of -0.5%.
A pulse check on ASX shares
The next thing we need to consider is the capital health of the company. Is the company generating a reasonable return on their equity (the total shareholder value) and do they have a decent safety buffer? One measure we can look at is net debt. This is simply the total debt minus the company’s cash holdings.
In the case of ASX Ltd, the current net debt sits at -$1,915m. High net debt can mean higher interest payments, greater instability, and higher sensitivity to interest rates. A negative value on the other hand indicates the company has more cash than debt – a good position to be in.
Another figure we can look at is the debt/equity percentage. This tells us how much debt the company has relative to shareholder equity. In other words, how leveraged is the company? ASX has a debt/equity ratio of 9.0%, which means they have more equity than debt.
Finally, we can look at the return on equity (ROE). The ROE tells us how much profit a company is generating as a percentage of its total equity – high numbers indicate the company is generating a lot of value for investors, while a low number raises concerns that capital isn’t necessarily being allocated efficiently. ASX generated an ROE of 12.9% in FY24.
What to make of ASX shares?
With a high ROE and strong revenue growth over the last 3 years, the ASX share price looks like one to watch in 2025. However, take note of the negative trend in profits – this is something to keep an eye on.
Please keep in mind this should only be the beginning of your research. It’s important to get a good grasp of the company’s financials and compare it to its peers. It’s also important to make sure the company is priced fairly. To learn more about share price valuation, you can sign up for one of our many free online investing courses.
