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. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. 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 OneSpaWorld Holdings (NASDAQ:OSW). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.
If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years OneSpaWorld Holdings grew its EPS by 14% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.
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. EBIT margins for OneSpaWorld Holdings remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 7.3% to US$936m. That's progress.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
View our latest analysis for OneSpaWorld Holdings
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 OneSpaWorld Holdings' future EPS 100% free.
It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that OneSpaWorld Holdings insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at US$62m, 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.
One positive for OneSpaWorld Holdings is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. For those who are looking for a little more than this, the high level of insider ownership enhances our enthusiasm for this growth. These two factors are a huge highlight for the company which should be a strong contender your watchlists. You still need to take note of risks, for example - OneSpaWorld Holdings has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a tailored list of companies which have demonstrated growth backed by significant insider holdings.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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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.