Pulling back 9.1% this week, IFB Industries' NSE:IFBIND) five-year decline in earnings may be coming into investors focus

IFB Industries Limited (NSE:IFBIND) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 18% in the last month. But the silver lining is the stock is up over five years. In that time, it is up 69%, which isn't bad, but is below the market return of 149%.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 9.1%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for IFB Industries

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During five years of share price growth, IFB Industries actually saw its EPS drop 7.1% per year.

Essentially, it doesn't seem likely that investors are focused on EPS. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

In contrast revenue growth of 13% per year is probably viewed as evidence that IFB Industries is growing, a real positive. It's quite possible that management are prioritizing revenue growth over EPS growth at the moment.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

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. You can see what analysts are predicting for IFB Industries in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that IFB Industries has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 57% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 11% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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 Indian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.