Investors in Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWON.K) have made a respectable return of 69% over the past five years

The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But you can do a lot better than that by buying good quality businesses for attractive prices. For example, the Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWON.K) share price is up 69% in the last five years, slightly above the market return. We're also happy to report the stock is up a healthy 42% in the last year.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Formula One Group

Formula One Group wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

In the last 5 years Formula One Group saw its revenue grow at 9.2% per year. That's a pretty good long term growth rate. While the share price has beat the market, compounding at 11% yearly, over five years, there's certainly some potential that the market hasn't fully considered the growth track record. If revenue growth can maintain for long enough, it's likely profits will flow. Lack of earnings means you have to project further into the future justify the valuation on the basis of future free cash flow.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

Formula One Group is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. If you are thinking of buying or selling Formula One Group stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Formula One Group has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 42% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 11%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

But note: Formula One Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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