Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) stock performs better than its underlying earnings growth over last five years

Buying shares in the best businesses can build meaningful wealth for you and your family. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. For example, the Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) share price is up a whopping 419% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. This just goes to show the value creation that some businesses can achieve. Meanwhile the share price is 4.3% higher than it was a week ago.

Since the stock has added US$1.3b to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

View our latest analysis for Keysight Technologies

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Over half a decade, Keysight Technologies managed to grow its earnings per share at 8.0% a year. This EPS growth is lower than the 39% average annual increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

earnings-per-share-growth

It is of course excellent to see how Keysight Technologies has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. This free interactive report on Keysight Technologies' balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Keysight Technologies shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 61% over one year. That's better than the annualised return of 39% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Keysight Technologies that you should be aware of before investing here.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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