In This Article:
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Investors are understandably disappointed when a stock they own declines in value. But no-one can make money on every call, especially in a declining market. The Roularta Media Group NV (EBR:ROU) is down 43% over three years, but the total shareholder return is -10% once you include the dividend. That's better than the market which returned -11% over the last three years.
See our latest analysis for Roularta Media Group
Roularta Media Group isn't a profitable company, so it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.
In the last three years Roularta Media Group saw its revenue shrink by 3.7% per year. That is not a good result. The annual decline of 17% per year in that period has clearly disappointed holders. That makes sense given the lack of either profits or revenue growth. Of course, sentiment could become too negative, and the company may actually be making progress to profitability.
You can see how revenue and earnings have changed over time in the image below, (click on the chart to see cashflow).
If you are thinking of buying or selling Roularta Media Group stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.
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, Roularta Media Group's TSR for the last 3 years was -10%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
While it's certainly disappointing to see that Roularta Media Group shares lost 5.6% throughout the year, that wasn't as bad as the market loss of 6.9%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 12% for each year. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. Importantly, we haven't analysed Roularta Media Group's dividend history. This free visual report on its dividends is a must-read if you're thinking of buying.