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For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. And highest quality companies can see their share prices grow by huge amounts. Don't believe it? Then look at the Commerzbank AG (ETR:CBK) share price. It's 601% higher than it was five years ago. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 27% gain in the last three months. The company reported its financial results recently; you can catch up on the latest numbers by reading our company report. Anyone who held for that rewarding ride would probably be keen to talk about it.
While the stock has fallen 5.7% this week, it's worth focusing on the longer term and seeing if the stocks historical returns have been driven by the underlying fundamentals.
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
During five years of share price growth, Commerzbank achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 34% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 48% average annual increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on Commerzbank's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Commerzbank the TSR over the last 5 years was 634%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.