VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) shareholders have earned a 6.6% CAGR over the last five years

If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you'd hope to be making a profit. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. Unfortunately for shareholders, while the VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) share price is up 37% in the last five years, that's less than the market return. Over the last twelve months the stock price has risen a very respectable 7.5%.

So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for VeriSign

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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).

Over half a decade, VeriSign managed to grow its earnings per share at 9.0% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 7% over the same period. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Dive deeper into VeriSign's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of VeriSign's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

VeriSign provided a TSR of 7.5% over the last twelve months. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 7% over half a decade This could indicate that the company is winning over new investors, as it pursues its strategy. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand VeriSign better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for VeriSign (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.