CPI Property Group's (ETR:O5G) investors will be pleased with their 15% return over the last five years

If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you'd hope to be making a profit. Better yet, you'd like to see the share price move up more than the market average. Unfortunately for shareholders, while the CPI Property Group (ETR:O5G) share price is up 15% in the last five years, that's less than the market return. Zooming in, the stock is up just 2.5% in the last year.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

We've discovered 2 warning signs about CPI Property Group. View them for free.

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

CPI Property Group has made a profit in the past. However, it made a loss in the last twelve months, suggesting profit may be an unreliable metric at this stage. So we might find other metrics can better explain the share price movements.

In contrast revenue growth of 26% per year is probably viewed as evidence that CPI Property Group is growing, a real positive. It's quite possible that management are prioritizing revenue growth over EPS growth at the moment.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on CPI Property Group's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

CPI Property Group shareholders gained a total return of 2.5% during the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. On the bright side, the longer term returns (running at about 3% a year, over half a decade) look better. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand CPI Property Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - CPI Property Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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 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.