ACM Research's (NASDAQ:ACMR) 11% CAGR outpaced the company's earnings growth over the same five-year period

If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you'd hope to be making a profit. Furthermore, you'd generally like to see the share price rise faster than the market. Unfortunately for shareholders, while the ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR) share price is up 71% in the last five years, that's less than the market return. However, more recent buyers should be happy with the increase of 27% over the last year.

Since it's been a strong week for ACM Research shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for ACM Research

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Over half a decade, ACM Research managed to grow its earnings per share at 33% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 11% over the same period. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock.

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

We know that ACM Research has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling ACM Research stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

ACM Research's TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 27%. That gain looks pretty satisfying, and it is even better than the five-year TSR of 11% per year. Even if the share price growth slows down from here, there's a good chance that this is business worth watching in the long term. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how ACM Research scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of undervalued small caps that insiders are buying.

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.