If You Had Bought Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Five Years Ago, You Could Pocket A 401% Gain Today

For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. While the best companies are hard to find, but they can generate massive returns over long periods. Just think about the savvy investors who held Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares for the last five years, while they gained 401%. This just goes to show the value creation that some businesses can achieve.

See our latest analysis for Amazon.com

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During the five years of share price growth, Amazon.com moved from a loss to profitability. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here. Since the company was unprofitable five years ago, but not three years ago, it's worth taking a look at the returns in the last three years, too. Indeed, the Amazon.com share price has gained 114% in three years. Meanwhile, EPS is up 67% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 29% average annual increase in the share price over the same three years. So you might conclude the market is a little more cautious about the stock, these days. Having said that, the market is still optimistic, given the P/E ratio of 81.80.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on Amazon.com's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Amazon.com has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 4.4% in the last twelve months. Having said that, the five-year TSR of 38% a year, is even better. The pessimistic view would be that be that the stock has its best days behind it, but on the other hand the price might simply be moderating while the business itself continues to execute. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how Amazon.com scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

We will like Amazon.com better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.