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It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But as Warren Buffett has mused, 'If you've been playing poker for half an hour and you still don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy.' When they buy such story stocks, investors are all too often the patsy.
In the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, my choice may seem old fashioned; I still prefer profitable companies like Deckers Outdoor (NYSE:DECK). Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.
See our latest analysis for Deckers Outdoor
How Fast Is Deckers Outdoor Growing Its Earnings Per Share?
In the last three years Deckers Outdoor's earnings per share took off like a rocket; fast, and from a low base. So the actual rate of growth doesn't tell us much. As a result, I'll zoom in on growth over the last year, instead. Over twelve months, Deckers Outdoor increased its EPS from US$8.92 to US$9.73. That amounts to a small improvement of 9.0%.
I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. While we note Deckers Outdoor's EBIT margins were flat over the last year, revenue grew by a solid 5.5% to US$2.1b. That's progress.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
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 Deckers Outdoor.
Are Deckers Outdoor Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
We would not expect to see insiders owning a large percentage of a US$5.5b company like Deckers Outdoor. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. Indeed, they hold US$40m worth of its stock. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Despite being just 0.7% of the company, the value of that investment is enough to show insiders have plenty riding on the venture.
It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Deckers Outdoor with market caps between US$4.0b and US$12b is about US$7.3m.