Do Summit Materials' (NYSE:SUM) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Summit Materials (NYSE:SUM), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Summit Materials

How Fast Is Summit Materials Growing?

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. To the delight of shareholders, Summit Materials has achieved impressive annual EPS growth of 46%, compound, over the last three years. While that sort of growth rate isn't sustainable for long, it certainly catches the eye of prospective investors.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. It seems Summit Materials is pretty stable, since revenue and EBIT margins are pretty flat year on year. That's not bad, but it doesn't point to ongoing future growth, either.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for Summit Materials' future EPS 100% free.

Are Summit Materials Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. Shareholders will be pleased by the fact that insiders own Summit Materials shares worth a considerable sum. To be specific, they have US$20m worth of shares. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. While their ownership only accounts for 0.5%, this is still a considerable amount at stake to encourage the business to maintain a strategy that will deliver value to shareholders.

It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but shareholders may be wondering if remuneration policies are in their best interest. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Summit Materials, with market caps between US$2.0b and US$6.4b, is around US$6.8m.

The Summit Materials CEO received US$5.1m in compensation for the year ending December 2022. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given it's below the median for similar sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Is Summit Materials Worth Keeping An Eye On?

Summit Materials' earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. The cherry on top is that insiders own a bucket-load of shares, and the CEO pay seems really quite reasonable. The sharp increase in earnings could signal good business momentum. Summit Materials certainly ticks a few boxes, so we think it's probably well worth further consideration. Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for Summit Materials (1 is a bit concerning!) that we have uncovered.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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.