Aqua MetalsAQMS -1.70%25 3-Year RORE % is -38.15 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus rates AQMS with a GF Score™ of 25/100. The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 228 Waste Management companies, Aqua Metals ranks worse than 83.77% on this metric.
Return on Retained Earnings (RORE) is an indicator of a company's growth potential, it shows how much a company earns by reinvesting its retained earnings, i.e. profits after dividend payments.
Aqua Metals's 3-Year RORE % for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 was -38.15%.
The industry rank for Aqua Metals's 3-Year RORE % or its related term are showing as below:
AQMS's 3-Year RORE % is ranked worse than 83.77% of 228
companies
in the Waste Management industry
Industry Median: 9.37
vs AQMS: -38.15
Aqua Metals (NAS:AQMS) 3-Year RORE % Explanation
Return on Retained Earnings (RORE) is important to investors because it reveals a company's efficiency and growth potential. A higher RORE indicates a higher return. A high RORE indicates that the company should reinvest profits into the business. A lower RORE suggests that the company should distribute profits to shareholders by paying out dividends, since those dollars aren't generating much additional growth for the company.
There are a several different ways to arrive at the Return on Retained Earnings. The simplest way to calculate it is by using published information on Earnings per Share (EPS) and Dividend per Share (DPS) over a selected period. Here, 3-year period is chosen.
Be Aware
Please keep in mind that the RORE is relative to the nature of the business and its competitors. If another company in the same sector is producing a lower return on retained earnings, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad investment. It may just suggest the company is older and no longer in a high growth stage. At such a stage in the business cycle, it would be expected to see a lower RORE and higher dividend payout.
Aqua Metals 3-Year RORE % Related Terms
Aqua Metals 3-Year RORE % Historical Data
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The historical data trend for Aqua Metals's 3-Year RORE % can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
For the Waste Management subindustry, Aqua Metals's 3-Year RORE %, along with its competitors' market caps and 3-Year RORE % data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Aqua Metals 3-Year RORE % vs Waste Management Industry
For the Waste Management industry and Industrials sector, Aqua Metals's 3-Year RORE % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Aqua Metals's 3-Year RORE % falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
In the calculation of 3-Year RORE %, the most recent and first period EPS (Diluted) is the trailing twelve months (TTM) data ended in Mar. 2026 and 3-year before.
Aqua Metals (AQMS) has a 3-Year RORE % of -38.15 as of Mar. 2026. 3-Year RORE % shows how much a company earns by reinvesting its retained earnings in 3-year. View historical data on Aqua Metals and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Aqua Metals ranks #191 out of 228 companies in the Waste Management industry, placing it in the top 83.8%.
Is Aqua Metals' 3-Year RORE % too high?
Aqua Metals' current 3-Year RORE % is -38.15. Based on the distribution chart, Aqua Metals ranks #191 out of 228 companies in the Waste Management industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Aqua Metals has a GF Score™ of 25/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Aqua Metals' 3-Year RORE % compare to AWX and OCLN?
According to the Waste Management industry distribution chart, Aqua Metals ranks #191 out of 228 companies for 3-Year RORE %. This places Aqua Metals in the lower half of its industry. The industry median 3-Year RORE % is 9.37. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good 3-Year RORE % for a Waste Management company?
The median 3-Year RORE % among Waste Management companies is 9.37, based on 228 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a 3-Year RORE % significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, 3-Year RORE % should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high 3-Year RORE % mean?
A high 3-Year RORE % can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. 3-Year RORE % shows how much a company earns by reinvesting its retained earnings in 3-year. View historical data on Aqua Metals and its competitors. For the Waste Management industry, the median 3-Year RORE % is 9.37 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Aqua Metals's current 3-Year RORE % is -38.15. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Aqua Metals stock overvalued right now?
Aqua Metals (AQMS) has a current 3-Year RORE % of -38.15. The current 3-Year RORE % is -38.15. Aqua Metals' overall GF Score™ is 25/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is 3-Year RORE % calculated?
3-Year RORE % is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Aqua Metals (AQMS), the current 3-Year RORE % is -38.15 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Aqua Metals Inc is developing and seeking to commercialize proprietary recycling and refining technologies for the recovery of critical minerals and metals. Its patented and patent-pending AquaRefining process is an electro-hydrometallurgical method designed to recover high-purity materials from battery and other metal-bearing feedstocks using a closed-loop system powered by electricity. Its idea is to reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs, reduce emissions, hazardous waste, and reliance on conventional smelting and chemical-intensive refining processes. It has one operating segment: sustainable metals recycling. It focused on the development and commercialization of AquaRefining technology for the clean and efficient recovery of valuable metals from lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.
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