It's understandable if you feel frustrated when a stock you own sees a lower share price. But in the short term the market is a voting machine, and the share price movements may not reflect the underlying business performance. So while the SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000958) share price is down 12% in the last year, the total return to shareholders (which includes dividends) was -11%. And that total return actually beats the market decline of 20%. However, the longer term returns haven't been so bad, with the stock down 5.5% in the last three years.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.

Unhappily, SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings had to report a 51% decline in EPS over the last year. This fall in the EPS is significantly worse than the 12% the share price fall. So despite the weak per-share profits, some investors are probably relieved the situation wasn't more difficult.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings' earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings shareholders can take comfort that , including dividends,their trailing twelve month loss of 11% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 20%. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it's worse than the annualised loss of 0.1% over the last half decade. While some investors do well specializing in buying companies that are struggling (but nonetheless undervalued), don't forget that Buffett said that 'turnarounds seldom turn'. 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. Even so, be aware that SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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