Should You Be Adding Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) To Your Watchlist Today?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. 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. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

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 Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

View our latest analysis for Fortinet

Fortinet's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Impressively, Fortinet has grown EPS by 27% per year, compound, in the last three years. So it's not surprising to see the company trades on a very high multiple of (past) earnings.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. While we note Fortinet achieved similar EBIT margins to last year, revenue grew by a solid 31% to US$4.1b. That's encouraging news for the company!

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.

Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Fortinet's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.

Are Fortinet Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Owing to the size of Fortinet, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$6.4b. This totals to 16% of shares in the company. Enough to lead management's decision making process down a path that brings the most benefit to shareholders. So there is opportunity here to invest in a company whose management have tangible incentives to deliver.

Is Fortinet Worth Keeping An Eye On?

If you believe that share price follows earnings per share you should definitely be delving further into Fortinet's strong EPS growth. Further, the high level of insider ownership is impressive and suggests that the management appreciates the EPS growth and has faith in Fortinet's continuing strength. Fast growth and confident insiders should be enough to warrant further research, so it would seem that it's a good stock to follow. You still need to take note of risks, for example - Fortinet has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

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.