For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. 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.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Aflac (NYSE:AFL). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

See our latest analysis for Aflac

How Fast Is Aflac 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. We can see that in the last three years Aflac grew its EPS by 5.3% per year. This may not be setting the world alight, but it does show that EPS is on the upwards trend.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. Not all of Aflac's revenue this year is revenue from operations, so keep in mind the revenue and margin numbers used in this article might not be the best representation of the underlying business. Aflac shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 28% to 34%, and revenue is growing. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

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

Are Aflac Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Owing to the size of Aflac, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But thanks to their investment in the company, it's pleasing to see that there are still incentives to align their actions with the shareholders. We note that their impressive stake in the company is worth US$495m. We note that this amounts to 0.8% of the company, which may be small owing to the sheer size of Aflac but it's still worth mentioning. This should still be a great incentive for management to maximise shareholder value.