Long term investing can be life changing when you buy and hold the truly great businesses. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. To wit, the Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:DFIN) share price has soared 478% over five years. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. On top of that, the share price is up 20% in about a quarter.

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

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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 five years of share price growth, Donnelley Financial Solutions achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 15% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 42% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth.

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

It is of course excellent to see how Donnelley Financial Solutions has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at Donnelley Financial Solutions' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Donnelley Financial Solutions shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 33% over one year. However, that falls short of the 42% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Donnelley Financial Solutions , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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 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.