Long term investing can be life changing when you buy and hold the truly great businesses. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. Just think about the savvy investors who held Corporación América Airports S.A. (NYSE:CAAP) shares for the last five years, while they gained 348%. This just goes to show the value creation that some businesses can achieve. It's also good to see the share price up 30% over the last quarter.

In light of the stock dropping 3.2% in the past week, we want to investigate the longer term story, and see if fundamentals have been the driver of the company's positive five-year return.

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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 the last half decade, Corporación América Airports became profitable. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Corporación América Airports has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at Corporación América Airports' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Corporación América Airports has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 64% in the last twelve months. That's better than the annualised return of 35% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Corporación América Airports better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Corporación América Airports you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.