Sustainable Growth Rate Calculator
Estimate the annual growth a company can support from retained earnings and return on equity, without assuming new external financing.
Company inputs
Annual profit after expenses and taxes. Commas are allowed.
Cash dividends attributable to the same annual period.
Book value of owners' equity for the matching period.
Live results
Calculation breakdown
| Metric | Formula basis | Value | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retained earnings | Net income – dividends | $1,000,000.00 | Profit kept in the business |
| Retention ratio | Retained earnings ÷ net income | 50.00% | Share of profit retained |
| Return on equity | Net income ÷ shareholders' equity | 20.00% | Profit generated per equity dollar |
| Sustainable growth rate | Retention ratio × ROE | 10.00% | Internally supportable annual growth estimate |
How to use the sustainable growth rate calculator
What this calculator does
This calculator estimates a company's sustainable growth rate: the annual rate at which earnings and equity could grow when the business keeps the same dividend policy and earns the same return on equity, without relying on a fresh issue of shares or additional borrowing. It is a compact planning identity, not a forecast of actual sales, cash flow, market value, or share price. The result is most useful as a consistency check for a mature or reasonably stable company whose profitability and payout policy are meaningful.
When to use it
Use the result when comparing management's growth target with internally generated funding capacity, reviewing whether dividend payments leave enough earnings to reinvest, stress-testing valuation assumptions, or comparing companies that have similar accounting quality and capital structures. It is less informative for early-stage businesses, loss-making companies, firms with rapidly changing leverage, or companies whose book equity is unusually small or negative.
How to calculate
- The calculator opens with a ready-to-use demonstration: $2,000,000 of net income, $1,000,000 of dividends, and $10,000,000 of shareholders' equity. The example result and XLSX workbook are available immediately.
- Replace each amount with figures from the same reporting period. Use plain U.S. dollar amounts; commas and a leading dollar sign are accepted, but scientific notation and decimal commas are rejected.
- Read the retention ratio, return on equity, retained earnings, payout ratio, and sustainable growth rate. Results update as you type once all fields are valid.
- Select Download Excel to create a current-state workbook containing the inputs, formulas, outputs, and calculation checks. Reset clears the demonstration data and disables export until a complete valid set is entered again.
Input guide
Net income is a required annual dollar amount. Enter the profit attributable to the period, such as $2,000,000. It may be positive or negative, but it cannot be zero because both the retention ratio and payout ratio divide by net income. Higher positive net income generally increases ROE; however, it can also change the retention ratio when dividends stay fixed. A common mistake is mixing consolidated net income with dividends or equity attributable to a different ownership group.
Dividends paid is a required dollar amount for the same period, such as $1,000,000. Zero is allowed. For a profitable company, higher dividends reduce retained earnings, reduce the retention ratio, and normally lower SGR. Dividends greater than net income are accepted because a company may fund distributions from prior reserves, but the retention ratio and SGR can then be negative. Do not use share repurchases unless your chosen analytical convention explicitly treats them as distributions.
Total shareholders' equity is a required nonzero dollar amount, such as $10,000,000. It is the book equity base used to calculate ROE. Lower positive equity mechanically raises ROE and SGR, which can be misleading when leverage is high or equity has been reduced by buybacks or losses. Negative equity is mathematically accepted but should be interpreted cautiously. The SEC's guide to reading a company's 10-K and 10-Q explains where investors can find financial statements and management discussion.
Output guide
Sustainable growth rate (SGR) is the primary percentage estimate. It equals the retention ratio multiplied by ROE. A positive value indicates internally supported growth under unchanged assumptions; zero means either no earnings are retained or ROE is zero; a negative value can arise from losses, distributions above earnings, or negative equity. Retention ratio is the share of net income kept after dividends. Dividend payout ratio is the complementary share distributed to owners. Return on equity (ROE) measures net income relative to book equity. Retained earnings is the dollar amount left after dividends. The calculation breakdown table repeats these four linked identities, showing the formula basis, current value, and a concise interpretation.
Worked example
With net income of $2,000,000 and dividends of $1,000,000, retained earnings are $1,000,000. The retention ratio is $1,000,000 ÷ $2,000,000 = 50.00%. ROE is $2,000,000 ÷ $10,000,000 = 20.00%. Multiplying 50.00% by 20.00% gives an SGR of 10.00%. This matches the first-open result, the breakdown table, and the workbook checkpoints. For a deeper treatment of the relationship, see NYU Stern's explanation of the fundamental determinants of growth.
How to interpret the estimate
A growth target below SGR may be financeable from retained earnings under the model's assumptions. A target above SGR creates a funding gap unless the company improves profitability, retains more earnings, uses existing excess cash, increases leverage, issues equity, or slows growth. None of those responses is automatically good or bad; each changes risk, ownership, liquidity, or shareholder distributions.
SGR is highly sensitive to accounting equity and leverage. A company can show a high ROE because it genuinely earns attractive returns, because equity is unusually small, or because debt financing is substantial. Review the balance sheet, cash flow statement, and leverage alongside the headline percentage.
For a broad economic comparison, use a consistent inflation basis and time period. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis publishes the Bureau of Economic Analysis series for annual real GDP growth. A company growing faster than the economy is not necessarily creating value if its incremental returns are poor or its financing risk is rising.
Formula, assumptions, and limitations
The model uses three identities: retention ratio = 1 – dividends ÷ net income; ROE = net income ÷ shareholders' equity; and SGR = retention ratio × ROE. The calculator keeps full numeric precision internally and rounds only displayed percentages and currency. All three accounting amounts should come from a consistent period and ownership basis.
The estimate assumes that ROE, dividend policy, capital intensity, and leverage remain stable. It does not model working-capital timing, debt covenants, cash balances, share issuance, buybacks, acquisitions, dilution, taxes outside reported net income, or changes in operating margins. It also does not tell you whether growth creates value; that requires comparing returns on incremental investment with the appropriate cost of capital and evaluating cash-flow quality.
Use the metric as one checkpoint among several. Confirm the underlying figures in audited or filed statements, investigate unusual equity movements, and compare multiple periods rather than relying on a single year. The SEC's financial statement glossary provides plain-language definitions for core reporting terms.