It’s common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like James Halstead (LON:JHD). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

View our latest analysis for James Halstead

How Fast Is James Halstead Growing?

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. Over the last three years, James Halstead has grown EPS by 7.2% per year. That might not be particularly high growth, but it does show that per-share earnings are moving steadily in the right direction.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. James Halstead maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 4.0% to UK£304m. That’s a real positive.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out this free interactive visualization of James Halstead’s forecast profits?

Are James Halstead Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It should give investors a sense of security owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, creating a close alignment their interests. So it is good to see that James Halstead insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at UK£165m. Coming in at 20% of the business, that holding gives insiders a lot of influence, and plenty of reason to generate value for shareholders. Looking very optimistic for investors.