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Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.
So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide NXP Semiconductors with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.
Check out our latest analysis for NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors' 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) outcomes. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years NXP Semiconductors grew its EPS by 6.6% per year. That might not be particularly high growth, but it does show that per-share earnings are moving steadily in the right direction.
Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. The good news is that NXP Semiconductors is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 14.8 percentage points to 25%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.
While we live in the present moment, there's little doubt that the future matters most in the investment decision process. So why not check this interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for NXP Semiconductors?
Are NXP Semiconductors Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Owing to the size of NXP Semiconductors, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But thanks to their investment in the company, it's pleasing to see that there are still incentives to align their actions with the shareholders. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at US$57m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. That's certainly enough to let shareholders know that management will be very focussed on long term growth.