The total return for Dottikon ES Holding (VTX:DESN) investors has risen faster than earnings growth over the last five years

Dottikon ES Holding AG (VTX:DESN) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 12% in the last quarter. But that scarcely detracts from the really solid long term returns generated by the company over five years. In fact, the share price is 300% higher today. So while it's never fun to see a share price fall, it's important to look at a longer time horizon. Ultimately business performance will determine whether the stock price continues the positive long term trend.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 3.4%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Dottikon ES Holding

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).

Over half a decade, Dottikon ES Holding managed to grow its earnings per share at 18% a year. This EPS growth is lower than the 32% average annual increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Dottikon ES Holding's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Dottikon ES Holding's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Dottikon ES Holding's TSR of 306% for the 5 years exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

Dottikon ES Holding shareholders are down 15% for the year, but the market itself is up 13%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 32%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Dottikon ES Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Dottikon ES Holding is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Of course Dottikon ES Holding may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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