Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'

In the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, my choice may seem old fashioned; I still prefer profitable companies like Consun Pharmaceutical Group (HKG:1681). Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Consun Pharmaceutical Group

How Fast Is Consun Pharmaceutical Group 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). That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Impressively, Consun Pharmaceutical Group has grown EPS by 27% per year, compound, in the last three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away winners.

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. Consun Pharmaceutical Group shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 33% to 35%, and revenue is growing. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in my book.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

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

Are Consun Pharmaceutical Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Like standing at the lookout, surveying the horizon at sunrise, insider buying, for some investors, sparks joy. That's because insider buying often indicates that those closest to the company have confidence that the share price will perform well. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions.

First things first; I didn't see insiders sell Consun Pharmaceutical Group shares in the last year. But the really good news is that Vice Chairlady of the Board & CEO Qian Li spent CN¥5.1m buying stock stock, at an average price of around CN¥4.04. Big buys like that give me a sense of opportunity; actions speak louder than words.