The total return for flatexDEGIRO (ETR:FTK) investors has risen faster than earnings growth over the last five years

When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. For instance, the price of flatexDEGIRO AG (ETR:FTK) stock is up an impressive 174% over the last five years. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 31% gain in the last three months. The company reported its financial results recently; you can catch up on the latest numbers by reading our company report.

Although flatexDEGIRO has shed €205m from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.

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While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Over half a decade, flatexDEGIRO managed to grow its earnings per share at 40% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 22% over the same period. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We know that flatexDEGIRO has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts .

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that flatexDEGIRO shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 92% over one year. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 22% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. Before forming an opinion on flatexDEGIRO you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.

But note: flatexDEGIRO may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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