Corero Network Security (LON:CNS) shareholder returns have been notable, earning 74% in 5 years

When we invest, we're generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. And in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. To wit, the Corero Network Security share price has climbed 74% in five years, easily topping the market decline of 1.2% (ignoring dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven't been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 11%.

The past week has proven to be lucrative for Corero Network Security investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's five-year performance.

View our latest analysis for Corero Network Security

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During the last half decade, Corero Network Security became profitable. That would generally be considered a positive, so we'd expect the share price to be up.

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 Corero Network Security has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? This free interactive report on Corero Network Security's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Corero Network Security has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 11% in the last twelve months. However, that falls short of the 12% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Corero Network Security better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Corero Network Security (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) .

But note: Corero Network Security 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 GB 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.