WEBULL

Kuehne + Nagel International's (VTX:KNIN) earnings trajectory could turn positive as the stock ascends 3.6% this past week

Simply Wall St · 04/18 12:11

For many investors, the main point of stock picking is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. We regret to report that long term Kuehne + Nagel International AG (VTX:KNIN) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 34% in three years, versus a market decline of about 0.7%. The more recent news is of little comfort, with the share price down 27% in a year. Even worse, it's down 15% in about a month, which isn't fun at all. But this could be related to poor market conditions -- stocks are down 10% in the same time.

The recent uptick of 3.6% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

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While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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.

Kuehne + Nagel International saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 16% per year, over the last three years. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 13% compound annual share price fall. This suggests that the market retains some optimism around long term earnings stability, despite past EPS declines.

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

earnings-per-share-growth
SWX:KNIN Earnings Per Share Growth April 18th 2025

This free interactive report on Kuehne + Nagel International's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Kuehne + Nagel International, it has a TSR of -25% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Investors in Kuehne + Nagel International had a tough year, with a total loss of 24% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 4.7%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 9% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Kuehne + Nagel International 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 Swiss exchanges.