For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. And highest quality companies can see their share prices grow by huge amounts. Just think about the savvy investors who held CHAPTERS Group AG (ETR:CHG) shares for the last five years, while they gained 382%. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 23% gain in the last three months.

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

View our latest analysis for CHAPTERS Group

Given that CHAPTERS Group didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last 5 years CHAPTERS Group saw its revenue grow at 62% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. Arguably, this is well and truly reflected in the strong share price gain of 37%(per year) over the same period. It's never too late to start following a top notch stock like CHAPTERS Group, since some long term winners go on winning for decades. So we'd recommend you take a closer look at this one, but keep in mind the market seems optimistic.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between CHAPTERS Group's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. We note that CHAPTERS Group's TSR, at 481% is higher than its share price return of 382%. When you consider it hasn't been paying a dividend, this data suggests shareholders have benefitted from a spin-off, or had the opportunity to acquire attractively priced shares in a discounted capital raising.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that CHAPTERS Group shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 59% over one year. That's better than the annualised return of 42% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand CHAPTERS Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with CHAPTERS Group .

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

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