Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without revenue, let alone profit. Unfortunately, high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson.

In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like Greentown Service Group (HKG:2869), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. 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 Greentown Service Group

Greentown Service Group's Earnings Per Share Are 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. Greentown Service Group managed to grow EPS by 14% per year, over three years. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. While we note Greentown Service Group's EBIT margins were flat over the last year, revenue grew by a solid 27% to CN¥7.4b. That's a real positive.

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.

In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out this free interactive visualization of Greentown Service Group's forecast profits?

Are Greentown Service Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It makes me feel more secure owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, thusly more closely aligning our interests. So it is good to see that Greentown Service Group insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Notably, they have an enormous stake in the company, worth CN¥4.5b. That equates to 19% of the company, making insiders powerful and aligned with other shareholders. Very encouraging.

It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but I find myself wondering if remuneration policies are shareholder friendly. Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. For companies with market capitalizations between CN¥14b and CN¥44b, like Greentown Service Group, the median CEO pay is around CN¥4.0m.