Long term investing can be life changing when you buy and hold the truly great businesses. While the best companies are hard to find, but they can generate massive returns over long periods. To wit, the ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR) share price has soared 413% over five years. This just goes to show the value creation that some businesses can achieve. On top of that, the share price is up 11% in about a quarter. But this move may well have been assisted by the reasonably buoyant market (up 11% in 90 days).

On the back of a solid 7-day performance, let's check what role the company's fundamentals have played in driving long term shareholder returns.

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.

Over half a decade, ACM Research managed to grow its earnings per share at 47% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 39% average annual increase in the share price. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on ACM Research's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that ACM Research has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 62% in the last twelve months. That's better than the annualised return of 39% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for ACM Research that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course ACM Research may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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.