Should You Be Adding Guomai Technologies (SZSE:002093) To Your Watchlist Today?

Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Guomai Technologies (SZSE:002093). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

View our latest analysis for Guomai Technologies

How Fast Is Guomai Technologies Growing?

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Guomai Technologies' shareholders have have plenty to be happy about as their annual EPS growth for the last 3 years was 49%. That sort of growth rarely ever lasts long, but it is well worth paying attention to when it happens.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. Our analysis has highlighted that Guomai Technologies' revenue from operations did not account for all of their revenue in the previous 12 months, so our analysis of its margins might not accurately reflect the underlying business. Guomai Technologies maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 7.6% to CN¥580m. That's a real positive.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check Guomai Technologies' balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.

Are Guomai Technologies Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Theory would suggest that it's an encouraging sign to see high insider ownership of a company, since it ties company performance directly to the financial success of its management. So as you can imagine, the fact that Guomai Technologies insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 50% of the shares, making insiders a very influential shareholder group. This should be a welcoming sign for investors because it suggests that the people making the decisions are also impacted by their choices. At the current share price, that insider holding is worth a staggering CN¥4.2b. That means they have plenty of their own capital riding on the performance of the business!

While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Guomai Technologies with market caps between CN¥2.9b and CN¥12b is about CN¥971k.

Guomai Technologies offered total compensation worth CN¥825k to its CEO in the year to December 2023. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when it's reasonable, that gives a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Is Guomai Technologies Worth Keeping An Eye On?

Guomai Technologies' earnings per share have been soaring, with growth rates sky high. An added bonus for those interested is that management hold a heap of stock and the CEO pay is quite reasonable, illustrating good cash management. The strong EPS improvement suggests the businesses is humming along. Big growth can make big winners, so the writing on the wall tells us that Guomai Technologies is worth considering carefully. What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Guomai Technologies you should know about.

While opting for stocks without growing earnings and absent insider buying can yield results, for investors valuing these key metrics, here is a carefully selected list of companies in CN with promising growth potential and insider confidence.

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.