By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you buy good businesses at attractive prices, your portfolio returns could exceed the average market return. For example, Asseco Poland S.A. (WSE:ACP) shareholders have seen the share price rise 44% over three years, well in excess of the market decline (5.5%, not including dividends). On the other hand, the returns haven't been quite so good recently, with shareholders up just 19% , including dividends .
See our latest analysis for Asseco Poland
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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.
Over the last three years, Asseco Poland failed to grow earnings per share, which fell 4.9% (annualized).
Given the share price resilience, we don't think the (declining) EPS numbers are a good measure of how the business is moving forward, right now. Therefore, it makes sense to look into other metrics.
We doubt the dividend payments explain the share price rise, since we don't see any improvement in that regard. But it's far more plausible that the revenue growth of 15% per year is viewed as evidence that Asseco Poland is growing. It could be that investors are content with the revenue growth on the basis that the company isn't really focussed on profits just yet. And that might explain the higher price.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We know that Asseco Poland has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus 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 incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Asseco Poland, it has a TSR of 71% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
Asseco Poland shareholders gained a total return of 19% during the year. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 8% over half a decade This suggests the company might be improving over time. 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. Take risks, for example - Asseco Poland has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on PL exchanges.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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