The five-year returns have been fantastic for D.I (KRX:003160) shareholders despite underlying losses increasing

When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For example, the D.I Corporation (KRX:003160) share price has soared 295% in the last half decade. Most would be very happy with that. It's even up 28% in the last week.

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

See our latest analysis for D.I

D.I wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

For the last half decade, D.I can boast revenue growth at a rate of 10% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. We'd argue this growth has been reflected in the share price which has climbed at a rate of 32% per year over in that time. It's well worth monitoring the growth trend in revenue, because if growth accelerates, that might signal an opportunity. When a growth trend accelerates, be it in revenue or earnings, it can indicate an inflection point for the business, which is can often be an opportunity for investors.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on D.I's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, D.I's TSR for the last 5 years was 332%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that D.I has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 121% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 34% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand D.I better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for D.I you should be aware of.

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 South Korean 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.