Deckers Outdoor's (NYSE:DECK) five-year earnings growth trails the incredible shareholder returns

For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. While the best companies are hard to find, but they can generate massive returns over long periods. To wit, the Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) share price has soared 352% over five years. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. Better yet, the share price has risen 20% in the last week. This could be related to the recent financial results, released less than a week ago -- you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

Since the stock has added US$2.6b to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

View our latest analysis for Deckers Outdoor

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).

Over half a decade, Deckers Outdoor managed to grow its earnings per share at 37% a year. That makes the EPS growth particularly close to the yearly share price growth of 35%. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Deckers Outdoor has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Deckers Outdoor shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 64% over one year. That's better than the annualised return of 35% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. Before spending more time on Deckers Outdoor it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

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 American 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.