The total return for AU Small Finance Bank (NSE:AUBANK) investors has risen faster than earnings growth over the last year

If you want to compound wealth in the stock market, you can do so by buying an index fund. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. For example, the AU Small Finance Bank Limited (NSE:AUBANK) share price is up 77% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 59% (not including dividends). That's a solid performance by our standards! Looking back further, the stock price is 68% higher than it was three years ago.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 9.0%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

View our latest analysis for AU Small Finance Bank

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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.

AU Small Finance Bank was able to grow EPS by 66% in the last twelve months. This EPS growth is reasonably close to the 77% increase in the share price. This makes us think the market hasn't really changed its sentiment around the company, in the last year. We don't think its coincidental that the share price is growing at a similar rate to the earnings per share.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of AU Small Finance Bank's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that AU Small Finance Bank shareholders have gained 77% (in total) over the last year. That's better than the annualized TSR of 19% over the last three years. These improved returns may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for AU Small Finance Bank that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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