Helix Energy Solutions Group's (NYSE:HLX) 12% CAGR outpaced the company's earnings growth over the same five-year period

The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. For example, the Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) share price is up 79% in the last five years, slightly above the market return. In comparison, the share price is down 31% in a year.

Since it's been a strong week for Helix Energy Solutions Group shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

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There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During the five years of share price growth, Helix Energy Solutions Group moved from a loss to profitability. That's generally thought to be a genuine positive, so investors may expect to see an increasing share price.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We know that Helix Energy Solutions Group has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, Helix Energy Solutions Group shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 31% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 91%. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 12%, each year, over five years. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that Helix Energy Solutions Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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

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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.