It is doubtless a positive to see that the JS Global Lifestyle Company Limited (HKG:1691) share price has gained some 46% in the last three months. But that is meagre solace in the face of the shocking decline over three years. The share price has sunk like a leaky ship, down 76% in that time. So we're relieved for long term holders to see a bit of uplift. The thing to think about is whether the business has really turned around.

While the last three years has been tough for JS Global Lifestyle shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

View our latest analysis for JS Global Lifestyle

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

JS Global Lifestyle saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 56% per year, over the last three years. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 38% compound annual share price fall. So, despite the prior disappointment, shareholders must have some confidence the situation will improve, longer term.

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

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free interactive report on JS Global Lifestyle's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between JS Global Lifestyle's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Its history of dividend payouts mean that JS Global Lifestyle's TSR, which was a 74% drop over the last 3 years, was not as bad as the share price return.

A Different Perspective

JS Global Lifestyle provided a TSR of 33% over the last twelve months. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it is certainly better than the yearly loss of about 9% endured over half a decade. It could well be that the business is stabilizing. 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for JS Global Lifestyle (1 is potentially serious) that you should be aware of.

JS Global Lifestyle is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying.

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

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