Action (WSE:ACT) rallies 13% this week, taking five-year gains to 589%

For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. For example, the Action S.A. (WSE:ACT) share price is up a whopping 589% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. On top of that, the share price is up 18% in about a quarter. We love happy stories like this one. The company should be really proud of that performance!

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

See our latest analysis for Action

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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 the last half decade, Action became profitable. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here. Since the company was unprofitable five years ago, but not three years ago, it's worth taking a look at the returns in the last three years, too. We can see that the Action share price is up 183% in the last three years. During the same period, EPS grew by 36% each year. This EPS growth is reasonably close to the 41% average annual increase in the share price (over three years, again). That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Arguably the share price is reflecting the earnings per share.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

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

A Different Perspective

Action shareholders gained a total return of 29% during the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 47% per year for five years. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Action , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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