The one-year returns have been decent for John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) shareholders despite underlying losses increasing

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The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But one can do better than that by picking better than average stocks (as part of a diversified portfolio). For example, the John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) share price is up 77% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 37% (not including dividends). So that should have shareholders smiling. In contrast, the longer term returns are negative, since the share price is 2.0% lower than it was three years ago.

On the back of a solid 7-day performance, let's check what role the company's fundamentals have played in driving long term shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for John Wiley & Sons

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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).

Over the last twelve months, John Wiley & Sons actually shrank its EPS by 94%. This was, in part, due to extraordinary items impacting earning in the last twelve months.

Given the share price gain, we doubt the market is measuring progress with EPS. Indeed, when EPS is declining but the share price is up, it often means the market is considering other factors.

John Wiley & Sons' revenue actually dropped 7.9% over last year. So the fundamental metrics don't provide an obvious explanation for the share price gain.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

earnings-and-revenue-growth
NYSE:WLY Earnings and Revenue Growth November 12th 2024

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of John Wiley & Sons, it has a TSR of 83% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

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