Passive investing in index funds can generate returns that roughly match the overall market. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. For example, the South Port New Zealand Limited (NZSE:SPN) share price is up 47% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 7.5% (not including dividends). If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! In contrast, the longer term returns are negative, since the share price is 10% lower than it was three years ago.
With that in mind, it’s worth seeing if the company’s underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it’s a weighing machine. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company’s share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
South Port New Zealand was able to grow EPS by 81% in the last twelve months. It’s fair to say that the share price gain of 47% did not keep pace with the EPS growth. So it seems like the market has cooled on South Port New Zealand, despite the growth. Interesting.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
NZSE:SPN Earnings Per Share Growth October 3rd 2025
It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on South Port New Zealand’s earnings, revenue and cash flow.
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. In the case of South Port New Zealand, it has a TSR of 55% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
We’re pleased to report that South Port New Zealand shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 55% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 7% per year), it would seem that the stock’s performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It’s always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand South Port New Zealand better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example – South Port New Zealand has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.