The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. For example, the Credit Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:CACC) share price has soared 164% in the last half decade. Most would be very happy with that. It's also good to see the share price up 27% over the last quarter.

View our latest analysis for Credit Acceptance

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. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During five years of share price growth, Credit Acceptance achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 23% per year. This EPS growth is reasonably close to the 21% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore one could conclude that sentiment towards the shares hasn't morphed very much. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Credit Acceptance's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Credit Acceptance shareholders are up 4.7% for the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 21% per year for five years. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Credit Acceptance better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Credit Acceptance (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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