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. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Allianz (ETR:ALV), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

Check out our latest analysis for Allianz

How Quickly Is Allianz Increasing Earnings Per Share?

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Allianz managed to grow EPS by 5.3% per year, over three years. While that sort of growth rate isn't anything to write home about, it does show the business is growing.

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. Not all of Allianz's revenue this year is revenue from operations, so keep in mind the revenue and margin numbers used in this article might not be the best representation of the underlying business. Allianz's EBIT margins have actually improved by 4.2 percentage points in the last year, to reach 14%, but, on the flip side, revenue was down 4.6%. While not disastrous, these figures could be better.

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

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Allianz.

Are Allianz Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since Allianz has a market capitalisation of €111b, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. As a matter of fact, their holding is valued at €16m. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. Despite being just 0.01% of the company, the value of that investment is enough to show insiders have plenty riding on the venture.