Investors in Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding (TWSE:5880) have seen respectable returns of 59% over the past five years

The main point of investing for the long term is to make money. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. But Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co., Ltd. (TWSE:5880) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 36% over five years, which is below the market return. Unfortunately the share price is down 0.7% in the last year.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding

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.

Over half a decade, Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding managed to grow its earnings per share at 2.7% a year. This EPS growth is lower than the 6% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth.

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

This free interactive report on Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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, Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding's TSR for the last 5 years was 59%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding shareholders gained a total return of 1.8% during the year. But that was short of the market average. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 10% per year for five years. It's quite possible the business continues to execute with prowess, even as the share price gains are slowing. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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