If EPS Growth Is Important To You, DoubleVerify Holdings (NYSE:DV) Presents An Opportunity

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. 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. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like DoubleVerify Holdings (NYSE:DV), which has not only revenues, but also profits. 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 DoubleVerify Holdings

How Fast Is DoubleVerify Holdings Growing?

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. We can see that in the last three years DoubleVerify Holdings grew its EPS by 16% per year. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. DoubleVerify Holdings shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 9.0% to 13%, and revenue is growing. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out this free interactive visualization of DoubleVerify Holdings' forecast profits?

Are DoubleVerify Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's a necessity that company leaders act in the best interest of shareholders and so insider investment always comes as a reassurance to the market. DoubleVerify Holdings followers will find comfort in knowing that insiders have a significant amount of capital that aligns their best interests with the wider shareholder group. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$265m. This suggests that leadership will be very mindful of shareholders' interests when making decisions!

While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. Our quick analysis into CEO remuneration would seem to indicate they are. For companies with market capitalisations between US$4.0b and US$12b, like DoubleVerify Holdings, the median CEO pay is around US$8.2m.

The DoubleVerify Holdings CEO received US$7.4m in compensation for the year ending December 2021. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. 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 a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Is DoubleVerify Holdings Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of DoubleVerify Holdings is that it is growing profits. The fact that EPS is growing is a genuine positive for DoubleVerify Holdings, but the pleasant picture gets better than that. With a meaningful level of insider ownership, and reasonable CEO pay, a reasonable mind might conclude that this is one stock worth watching. What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for DoubleVerify Holdings 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.