Investors in América Móvil. de (BMV:AMXB) have unfortunately lost 19% over the last three years

For many investors, the main point of stock picking is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. We regret to report that long term América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:AMXB) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 28% in three years, versus a market decline of about 8.6%. Furthermore, it's down 15% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. But this could be related to the weak market, which is down 6.5% in the same period.

It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.

Check out our latest analysis for América Móvil. de

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect 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.

América Móvil. de saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 17% per year, over the last three years. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 11% compound annual share price fall. This suggests that the market retains some optimism around long term earnings stability, despite past EPS declines.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Dive deeper into América Móvil. de's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of América Móvil. de's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of América Móvil. de, it has a TSR of -19% for the last 3 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

Although it hurts that América Móvil. de returned a loss of 6.3% in the last twelve months, the broader market was actually worse, returning a loss of 7.3%. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 2%, each year, over five years. In the best case scenario the last year is just a temporary blip on the journey to a brighter future. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand América Móvil. de better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with América Móvil. de .

We will like América Móvil. de better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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