The one-year returns for Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication's (TLV:BEZQ) shareholders have been decent, yet its earnings growth was even better

Passive investing in index funds can generate returns that roughly match the overall market. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. For example, the Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication Corp. Ltd (TLV:BEZQ) share price is up 64% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 38% (not including dividends). If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! And shareholders have also done well over the long term, with an increase of 45% in the last three years.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication

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.

Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication was able to grow EPS by 111% in the last twelve months. This EPS growth is significantly higher than the 64% increase in the share price. So it seems like the market has cooled on Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication, despite the growth. Interesting.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We know that Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 64% over the last year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 3% per year over five years. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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 IL 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.