37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002555) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 16% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been pleasing. It has returned a market beating 34% in that time. While the returns over the last 5 years have been good, we do feel sorry for those shareholders who haven't held shares that long, because the share price is down 33% in the last three years.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving 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 flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Over half a decade, 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group managed to grow its earnings per share at 11% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 6% average annual increase in the share price. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days.

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

This free interactive report on 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group the TSR over the last 5 years was 52%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group shareholders can take comfort that , including dividends,their trailing twelve month loss of 14% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 17%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 9% for each year. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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 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.