Stock Analysis

We Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Melexis (EBR:MELE) Passed With Ease

ENXTBR:MELE
Source: Shutterstock

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Melexis (EBR:MELE). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Melexis with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for Melexis

How Fast Is Melexis Growing?

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. It certainly is nice to see that Melexis has managed to grow EPS by 24% per year over three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep up that sort of growth, shareholders will be beaming.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. The music to the ears of Melexis shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 19% to 26% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

earnings-and-revenue-history
ENXTBR:MELE Earnings and Revenue History September 19th 2022

Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Melexis' future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.

Are Melexis Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's a good habit to check into a company's remuneration policies to ensure that the CEO and management team aren't putting their own interests before that of the shareholder with excessive salary packages. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Melexis, with market caps between €2.0b and €6.4b, is around €1.1m.

The Melexis CEO received €759k in compensation for the year ending December 2021. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Does Melexis Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

If you believe that share price follows earnings per share you should definitely be delving further into Melexis' strong EPS growth. The fast growth bodes well while the very reasonable CEO pay assists builds some confidence in the board. So this stock is well worth an addition to your watchlist as it has the potential to provide great value to shareholders. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for Melexis that you need to be mindful of.

Although Melexis certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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.