While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX) share price up 17% in a single quarter. But that doesn't help the fact that the three year return is less impressive. In fact, the share price is down 36% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

See our latest analysis for Teleflex

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).

Teleflex saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 9.3% per year, over the last three years. The share price decline of 14% is actually steeper than the EPS slippage. So it seems the market was too confident about the business, in the past.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Dive deeper into Teleflex's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Teleflex's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Teleflex shareholders are up 26% for the year (even including dividends). But that return falls short of the market. But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 4% per year, over five years. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Teleflex better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Teleflex that you should be aware of before investing here.

But note: Teleflex may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.