Ideally, your overall portfolio should beat the market average. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers So we wouldn't blame long term Lucas Bols N.V. (AMS:BOLS) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 44% over a half decade.

Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.

See our latest analysis for Lucas Bols

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Lucas Bols became profitable within the last five years. That would generally be considered a positive, so we are surprised to see the share price is down. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

The revenue fall of 1.9% per year for five years is neither good nor terrible. But it's quite possible the market had expected better; a closer look at the revenue trends might explain the pessimism.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We know that Lucas Bols has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Lucas Bols

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Lucas Bols' total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Dividends have been really beneficial for Lucas Bols shareholders, and that cash payout explains why its total shareholder loss of 38%, over the last 5 years, isn't as bad as the share price return.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, Lucas Bols shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 0.5% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 15%. What is more upsetting is the 7% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. While the losses are slowing we doubt many shareholders are happy with the stock. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how Lucas Bols scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

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