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It hasn't been the best quarter for Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 19% in that time. But in stark contrast, the returns over the last half decade have impressed. It's fair to say most would be happy with 241% the gain in that time. To some, the recent pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a fast rise. Ultimately business performance will determine whether the stock price continues the positive long term trend.

Since it's been a strong week for Apollo Global Management shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

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There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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, Apollo Global Management managed to grow its earnings per share at 15% a year. This EPS growth is lower than the 28% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth.

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

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. This free interactive report on Apollo Global Management's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Apollo Global Management's TSR for the last 5 years was 290%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.