Corporación América Airports S.A.'s (NYSE:CAAP) stock was strong after they reported robust earnings. We did some analysis and think that investors are missing some details hidden beneath the profit numbers.

Check out our latest analysis for Corporación América Airports

The Impact Of Unusual Items On Profit

For anyone who wants to understand Corporación América Airports' profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from US$45m worth of unusual items. We can't deny that higher profits generally leave us optimistic, but we'd prefer it if the profit were to be sustainable. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. We can see that Corporación América Airports' positive unusual items were quite significant relative to its profit in the year to June 2022. As a result, we can surmise that the unusual items are making its statutory profit significantly stronger than it would otherwise be.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On Corporación América Airports' Profit Performance

As we discussed above, we think the significant positive unusual item makes Corporación América Airports' earnings a poor guide to its underlying profitability. For this reason, we think that Corporación América Airports' statutory profits may be a bad guide to its underlying earnings power, and might give investors an overly positive impression of the company. On the bright side, the company showed enough improvement to book a profit this year, after losing money last year. The goal of this article has been to assess how well we can rely on the statutory earnings to reflect the company's potential, but there is plenty more to consider. If you want to do dive deeper into Corporación América Airports, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 can't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Corporación América Airports.

Today we've zoomed in on a single data point to better understand the nature of Corporación América Airports' profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying to be useful.

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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.