CSE Global Limited (SGX:544) just reported some strong earnings, and the market reacted accordingly with a healthy uplift in the share price. However, we think that shareholders may be missing some concerning details in the numbers.

One essential aspect of assessing earnings quality is to look at how much a company is diluting shareholders. CSE Global expanded the number of shares on issue by 13% over the last year. That means its earnings are split among a greater number of shares. To celebrate net income while ignoring dilution is like rejoicing because you have a single slice of a larger pizza, but ignoring the fact that the pizza is now cut into many more slices. You can see a chart of CSE Global's EPS by clicking here.

How Is Dilution Impacting CSE Global's Earnings Per Share (EPS)?

CSE Global has improved its profit over the last three years, with an annualized gain of 15% in that time. But on the other hand, earnings per share actually fell by 6.6% per year. And at a glance the 136% gain in profit over the last year impresses. But in comparison, EPS only increased by 118% over the same period. Therefore, the dilution is having a noteworthy influence on shareholder returns.

Changes in the share price do tend to reflect changes in earnings per share, in the long run. So it will certainly be a positive for shareholders if CSE Global can grow EPS persistently. But on the other hand, we'd be far less excited to learn profit (but not EPS) was improving. For the ordinary retail shareholder, EPS is a great measure to check your hypothetical "share" of the company's profit.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On CSE Global's Profit Performance

Each CSE Global share now gets a meaningfully smaller slice of its overall profit, due to dilution of existing shareholders. Because of this, we think that it may be that CSE Global's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. But the happy news is that, while acknowledging we have to look beyond the statutory numbers, those numbers are still improving, with EPS growing at a very high rate over the last year. Of course, we've only just scratched the surface when it comes to analysing its earnings; one could also consider margins, forecast growth, and return on investment, among other factors. If you want to do dive deeper into CSE Global, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. For example - CSE Global has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of CSE Global's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.