While Team Internet Group plc (LON:TIG) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 29% in the last quarter. But that scarcely detracts from the really solid long term returns generated by the company over five years. In fact, the share price is 201% higher today. So while it's never fun to see a share price fall, it's important to look at a longer time horizon. Ultimately business performance will determine whether the stock price continues the positive long term trend.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

See our latest analysis for Team Internet Group

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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.

During the last half decade, Team Internet Group became profitable. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

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

It is of course excellent to see how Team Internet Group has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at Team Internet Group's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Team Internet Group the TSR over the last 5 years was 211%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Team Internet Group provided a TSR of 12% over the year (including dividends). That's fairly close to the broader market return. It has to be noted that the recent return falls short of the 25% shareholders have gained each year, over half a decade. Although the share price growth has slowed, the longer term story points to a business well worth watching. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Team Internet Group you should be aware of.