It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Jardine Cycle & Carriage (SGX:C07). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. Impressively, Jardine Cycle & Carriage has grown EPS by 31% per year, compound, in the last three years. If growth like this continues on into the future, then shareholders will have plenty to smile about.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. Not all of Jardine Cycle & Carriage's revenue this year is revenue from operations, so keep in mind the revenue and margin numbers used in this article might not be the best representation of the underlying business. Despite consistency in EBIT margins year on year, Jardine Cycle & Carriage has actually recorded a dip in revenue. This does not bode too well for short term growth prospects and so understanding the reasons for these results is of great importance.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Jardine Cycle & Carriage.

Are Jardine Cycle & Carriage Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Investors are always searching for a vote of confidence in the companies they hold and insider buying is one of the key indicators for optimism on the market. Because often, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, insiders are sometimes wrong, and we don't know the exact thinking behind their acquisitions.

Any way you look at it Jardine Cycle & Carriage shareholders can gain quiet confidence from the fact that insiders shelled out US$542k to buy stock, over the last year. This, combined with the lack of sales from insiders, should be a great signal for shareholders in what's to come. Zooming in, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Director & Group Finance Director Hai Yeh Hsu for S$274k worth of shares, at about S$27.49 per share.

The good news, alongside the insider buying, for Jardine Cycle & Carriage bulls is that insiders (collectively) have a meaningful investment in the stock. Indeed, they hold US$38m worth of its stock. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. Even though that's only about 0.3% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.

While insiders are apparently happy to hold and accumulate shares, that is just part of the big picture. The cherry on top is that the CEO, Ben Birks is paid comparatively modestly to CEOs at similar sized companies. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Jardine Cycle & Carriage with market caps between US$4.0b and US$12b is about US$3.8m.

The Jardine Cycle & Carriage CEO received US$3.2m in compensation for the year ending December 2023. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Does Jardine Cycle & Carriage Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

You can't deny that Jardine Cycle & Carriage has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. Not only that, but we can see that insiders both own a lot of, and are buying more shares in the company. These things considered, this is one stock worth watching. Before you take the next step you should know about the 1 warning sign for Jardine Cycle & Carriage that we have uncovered.

The good news is that Jardine Cycle & Carriage is not the only stock with insider buying. Here's a list of small cap, undervalued companies in SG with insider buying in the last three months!

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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.