The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like SFS Group (VTX:SFSN). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide SFS Group with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

View our latest analysis for SFS Group

SFS Group's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years SFS Group grew its EPS by 7.8% per year. While that sort of growth rate isn't anything to write home about, it does show the business is growing.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. On the revenue front, SFS Group has done well over the past year, growing revenue by 45% to CHF2.8b but EBIT margin figures were less stellar, seeing a decline over the last 12 months. So it seems the future may hold further growth, especially if EBIT margins can remain steady.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for SFS Group's future EPS 100% free.

Are SFS Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Many consider high insider ownership to be a strong sign of alignment between the leaders of a company and the ordinary shareholders. So as you can imagine, the fact that SFS Group insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 53% of the company, so they will share in the same delights and challenges experienced by the ordinary shareholders. This makes it apparent they will be incentivised to plan for the long term - a positive for shareholders with a sit and hold strategy. CHF2.3b That level of investment from insiders is nothing to sneeze at.