While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited (HKG:1038) share price up 30% in a single quarter. The negative return of 24% over five years does not impress. But on the bright side, that is better than the market return of 9.8%.

While the last five years has been tough for CK Infrastructure Holdings shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the five years over which the share price declined, CK Infrastructure Holdings' earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 6.4% each year. This change in EPS is reasonably close to the 5% average annual decrease in the share price. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Rather, the share price change has reflected changes in earnings per share.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Dive deeper into CK Infrastructure Holdings' key metrics by checking this interactive graph of CK Infrastructure Holdings's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for CK Infrastructure Holdings the TSR over the last 5 years was -2.1%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that CK Infrastructure Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 15% over the last year. That's including the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 0.4% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. 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. Take risks, for example - CK Infrastructure Holdings has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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