Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) earnings and shareholder returns have been trending downwards for the last three years, but the stock surges 10% this past week

It's nice to see the Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) share price up 10% in a week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been less than pleasing. Truth be told the share price declined 57% in three years and that return, Dear Reader, falls short of what you could have got from passive investing with an index fund.

The recent uptick of 10% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for Kohl's

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, Kohl's moved from a loss to profitability. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So given the share price is down it's worth checking some other metrics too.

We note that the dividend seems healthy enough, so that probably doesn't explain the share price drop. However, the weak share price might be related to the fact revenue has been disappearing at a rate of 3.9% each year, over three years. This could have some investors worried about the longer term growth potential (or lack thereof).

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Kohl's is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Kohl's will earn in the future (free analyst consensus estimates)

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Kohl's the TSR over the last 3 years was -47%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Kohl's provided a TSR of 11% over the last twelve months. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it is certainly better than the yearly loss of about 7% endured over half a decade. It could well be that the business is stabilizing. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Kohl's better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Kohl's (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

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

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.