Should You Be Adding Winmark (NASDAQ:WINA) To Your Watchlist Today?

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Winmark (NASDAQ:WINA). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

Our analysis indicates that WINA is potentially undervalued!

How Quickly Is Winmark Increasing Earnings Per Share?

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years Winmark grew its EPS by 13% per year. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. EBIT margins for Winmark remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 8.1% to US$81m. That's progress.

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.

While profitability drives the upside, prudent investors always check the balance sheet, too.

Are Winmark 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 Winmark shares worth a considerable sum. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$161m. That equates to 20% of the company, making insiders powerful and aligned with other shareholders. Looking very optimistic for investors.

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Our quick analysis into CEO remuneration would seem to indicate they are. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Winmark, with market caps between US$400m and US$1.6b, is around US$3.9m.

The Winmark CEO received total compensation of just US$1.8m in the year to December 2021. First impressions seem to indicate a compensation policy that is favourable to shareholders. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Is Winmark Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Winmark is that it is growing profits. The fact that EPS is growing is a genuine positive for Winmark, but the pleasant picture gets better than that. With company insiders aligning themselves considerably with the company's success and modest CEO compensation, there's no arguments that this is a stock worth looking into. Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Winmark (1 is a bit unpleasant) you should be aware of.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

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.