I Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Genus (LON:GNS) Passed With Ease

Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without revenue, let alone profit. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses.

So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Genus (LON:GNS). Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath.

Check out our latest analysis for Genus

Genus's Earnings Per Share Are Growing.

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS). Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. We can see that in the last three years Genus grew its EPS by 4.9% per year. While that sort of growth rate isn't amazing, it does show the business is growing.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Genus shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 3.3% to 9.2%, and revenue is growing. That's great to see, on both counts.

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.

You don't drive with your eyes on the rear-view mirror, so you might be more interested in this free report showing analyst forecasts for Genus's future profits.

Are Genus Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

I like company leaders to have some skin in the game, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that Genus insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. To be specific, they have UK£11m worth of shares. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Even though that's only about 0.3% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.

Is Genus Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Genus is that it is growing profits. Just as polish makes silverware pop, the high level of insider ownership enhances my enthusiasm for this growth. The combination sparks joy for me, so I'd consider keeping the company on a watchlist. However, before you get too excited we've discovered 1 warning sign for Genus that you should be aware of.

Although Genus certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

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. 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.
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