As Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products (SZSE:002780) swells 12% this past week, investors may now be noticing the company's five-year earnings growth

Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products Co., Ltd (SZSE:002780) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 12% in the last week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. In fact, the share price is down 44%, which falls well short of the return you could get by buying an index fund.

While the last five years has been tough for Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

View our latest analysis for Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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).

Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products became profitable within the last five years. That would generally be considered a positive, so we are surprised to see the share price is down. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

Revenue is actually up 16% over the time period. A more detailed examination of the revenue and earnings may or may not explain why the share price languishes; there could be an opportunity.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 10% in the twelve months, Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products shareholders did even worse, losing 20%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 8% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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