what is a good return on equity 
a good roe will depend on the company s industry and competitors though the long term roe for the top ten s p 500 companies has averaged around 18 6 specific industries can be significantly higher or lower 7 an industry will likely have a lower average roe if it is highly competitive and requires substantial assets to generate revenues industries with relatively few players and where only limited assets are needed to generate revenues may show a higher average roe 