El Puerto de Liverpool. de (BMV:LIVEPOLC-1) shareholders have endured a 38% loss from investing in the stock five years ago

Ideally, your overall portfolio should beat the market average. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:LIVEPOLC-1), since the last five years saw the share price fall 42%.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

View our latest analysis for El Puerto de Liverpool. de

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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.

During the five years over which the share price declined, El Puerto de Liverpool. de's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 0.3% each year. This reduction in EPS is less than the 10% annual reduction in the share price. This implies that the market is more cautious about the business these days.

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

We know that El Puerto de Liverpool. de 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.

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 is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of El Puerto de Liverpool. de, it has a TSR of -38% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that El Puerto de Liverpool. de shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 27% over one year. That's including the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 7% per year over the last half decade. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand El Puerto de Liverpool. de better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for El Puerto de Liverpool. de that you should be aware of.

But note: El Puerto de Liverpool. de 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 MX 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.