Investors who have held Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) over the last five years have watched its earnings decline along with their investment

This week we saw the Smart Sand, Inc. (NASDAQ:SND) share price climb by 12%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. In fact, the share price is down 16%, which falls well short of the return you could get by buying an index fund.

The recent uptick of 12% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Smart Sand

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 five years over which the share price declined, Smart Sand's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 46% each year. The share price decline of 3% per year isn't as bad as the EPS decline. So the market may previously have expected a drop, or else it expects the situation will improve. With a P/E ratio of 73.26, it's fair to say the market sees a brighter future for the business.

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

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

A Different Perspective

Smart Sand shareholders are up 7.8% for the year. But that return falls short of the market. But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 3% per year, over five years. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. 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 5 warning signs with Smart Sand , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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 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.