The 22% return this week takes Kogan.com's (ASX:KGN) shareholders one-year gains to 116%

The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But if you pick the right business to buy shares in, you can make more than you can lose. For example, the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX:KGN) share price has soared 116% in the last 1 year. Most would be very happy with that, especially in just one year! It's also good to see the share price up 58% over the last quarter. The company reported its financial results recently; you can catch up on the latest numbers by reading our company report. Unfortunately the longer term returns are not so good, with the stock falling 47% in the last three years.

On the back of a solid 7-day performance, let's check what role the company's fundamentals have played in driving long term shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Kogan.com

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the last year Kogan.com grew its earnings per share, moving from a loss to a profit.

When a company is just on the edge of profitability it can be well worth considering other metrics in order to more precisely gauge growth (and therefore understand share price movements).

Kogan.com's revenue actually dropped 20% over last year. So using a snapshot of key business metrics doesn't give us a good picture of why the market is bidding up the stock.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We know that Kogan.com has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Kogan.com will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Kogan.com shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 116% over one year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 14% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. If you would like to research Kogan.com in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.