The eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Share Price Is Up 51% And Shareholders Are Holding On

By buying an index fund, investors can approximate the average market return. But many of us dare to dream of bigger returns, and build a portfolio ourselves. For example, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) shareholders have seen the share price rise 51% over three years, well in excess of the market return (38%, not including dividends).

Check out our latest analysis for eBay

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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).

eBay became profitable within the last three years. That would generally be considered a positive, so we'd expect the share price to be up.

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

We know that eBay has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this freereport showing consensus revenue forecasts.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered eBay's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Dividends have been really beneficial for eBay shareholders, and that cash payout contributed to why its TSR of 51%, over the last 3 years, is better than the share price return.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 7.9% in the last year, eBay shareholders lost 7.4% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 9.6%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. If you would like to research eBay in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.

But note: eBay may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this freelist of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.