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We think that it's fair to say that the possibility of finding fantastic multi-year winners is what motivates many investors. Mistakes are inevitable, but a single top stock pick can cover any losses, and so much more. For example, the Birlasoft Limited (NSE:BSOFT) share price is up a whopping 312% in the last three years, a handsome return for long term holders. Then again, the 9.1% share price decline hasn't been so fun for shareholders.

While the stock has fallen 6.3% this week, it's worth focusing on the longer term and seeing if the stocks historical returns have been driven by the underlying fundamentals.

See our latest analysis for Birlasoft

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 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.

Birlasoft was able to grow its EPS at 26% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. In comparison, the 60% per year gain in the share price outpaces the EPS growth. This indicates that the market is feeling more optimistic on the stock, after the last few years of progress. That's not necessarily surprising considering the three-year track record of earnings growth.

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

We know that Birlasoft has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Check if analysts think Birlasoft will grow revenue in the future.

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Birlasoft's TSR for the last 3 years was 330%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

While the broader market gained around 5.8% in the last year, Birlasoft shareholders lost 26% (even including dividends). Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 39%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Birlasoft .

But note: Birlasoft 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 IN exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Find out whether Birlasoft is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

See the rest here:
Birlasoft (NSE:BSOFT) sheds 6.3% this week, as yearly returns fall more in line with earnings growth - Simply Wall St

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Opera (NASDAQ:OPRA) so let's look a bit deeper.

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Opera:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.023 = US$23m (US$1.1b - US$56m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Thus, Opera has an ROCE of 2.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Software industry average of 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for Opera

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Opera compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

We're glad to see that ROCE is heading in the right direction, even if it is still low at the moment. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 2.3%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 68%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

In summary, it's great to see that Opera can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 59% in the last three years. That being the case, research into the company's current valuation metrics and future prospects seems fitting.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

While Opera isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Find out whether Opera is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

Read more here:
Returns At Opera (NASDAQ:OPRA) Are On The Way Up - Simply Wall St

The underwhelming share price performance of PaySauce Limited (NZSE:PYS) in the past three years would have disappointed many shareholders. However, what is unusual is that EPS growth has been positive, suggesting that the share price has diverged from fundamentals. The AGM coming up on the 22 September 2022 could be an opportunity for shareholders to bring these concerns to the board's attention. They could also influence management through voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration. We think shareholders might be reluctant to increase compensation for the CEO at the moment, according to our analysis below.

Check out our latest analysis for PaySauce

According to our data, PaySauce Limited has a market capitalization of NZ$41m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth NZ$213k over the year to March 2022. That's a notable increase of 19% on last year. Notably, the salary of NZ$213k is the entirety of the CEO compensation.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under NZ$335m, the reported median total CEO compensation was NZ$277k. So it looks like PaySauce compensates Asantha Wijeyeratne in line with the median for the industry. Furthermore, Asantha Wijeyeratne directly owns NZ$8.2m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 84% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 16% is other remuneration. At the company level, PaySauce pays Asantha Wijeyeratne solely through a salary, preferring to go down a conventional route. If salary is the major component in total compensation, it suggests that the CEO receives a higher fixed proportion of the total compensation, regardless of performance.

Over the past three years, PaySauce Limited has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 47% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 60% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. The combination of strong revenue growth with medium-term EPS improvement certainly points to the kind of growth we like to see. While we don't have analyst forecasts for the company, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

With a total shareholder return of -37% over three years, PaySauce Limited shareholders would by and large be disappointed. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

PaySauce pays CEO compensation exclusively through a salary, with non-salary compensation completely ignored. The fact that shareholders are sitting on a loss on the value of their shares in the past few years is certainly disconcerting. A huge lag in share price growth when earnings have grown may indicate there could be other issues that are affecting the company at the moment that the market is focused on. If there are some unknown variables that are influencing the stock's price, surely shareholders would have some concerns. These concerns should be addressed at the upcoming AGM, where shareholders can question the board and evaluate if their judgement and decision making is still in line with their expectations.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. We've identified 3 warning signs for PaySauce that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Find out whether PaySauce is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

More here:
It's Probably Less Likely That PaySauce Limited's (NZSE:PYS) CEO Will See A Huge Pay Rise This Year - Simply Wall St

There are some excellent, well-tested virtual private networks we recommend you try. But if you're exploring the competitive market of VPNs on your own, you're likely to find some shoddy VPNs companies that scatter hints of their dubiousness everywhere they go. Learning to identify a few of these red flags can save you hours of research and a hefty annual subscription cost for supposedly getting connected to the internet more securely.

Is the price too good to be true? Has the company been caught keeping logs? How are your connection speeds?

To save you time, here are a few of the biggest red flags to watch out for when taking your new VPN out for a test drive. And on the flip side, here are three things to look for in a VPN.

Read more: Best iPhone VPN of 2022

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Maintaining the hardware and expertise needed for large VPN networks isn't cheap. As a VPN customer, you either pay for a premium service with your dollars, or you pay for free services with your usage data when it's collected by the free VPN and bargained away to advertisers or malicious actors.

As recently as August 2019, 90% of apps flagged as potentially unsafe in Top10VPN's investigation into free VPN ownership still posed a privacy risk to users. Free VPNs can also leave you open to quiet malware installation, pop-up ad barrages and brutally slow internet speeds.

Read more: Best Free VPN 2022: Try These Risk-Free Services for a Privacy Boost

If a VPN is caught keeping or sharing user activity logs, I won't recommend it. While most VPN services claim they don't track or keep logs of user activity, that claim can sometimes be impossible to verify. In other instances, the claim falls apart publicly when a VPN company hands over internet records to law enforcement.

The latter has happened in a few cases. EarthVPN, Hide My Ass VPN and PureVPN have all been clocked by privacy advocates for handing over logs to authorities, as hasIPVanish.

To be clear, it is entirely possible to be grateful for the arrest of reprehensible scumbags while ardently advocating for consumer privacy interests. My beef isn't with any VPN company helping cops catch a child abuser via usage logs; it's with any VPN company that lies to its customers about doing so. The lie that helps law enforcement in the US catch a legitimate criminal is the same lie that helps law enforcement in China arrest a person watching footage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Ideally, the VPN you choose should have undergone -- and published the results of -- an independent third-party audit of its operations, including its use of activity logs.

Read more: All the VPN Terms You Need to Know

Now playing: Watch this: Top 5 Reasons to Use a VPN

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Another red flag to watch for when choosing a VPN is shoddy encryption standards. Users should expect AES-256 encryption or better from VPN services. Nearly every web browser and app already uses AES, often touted as "military-grade" encryption, after it was adopted by the US government in 2002. If your VPN only offers PPTP and L2TP encryption, look elsewhere.

While you're snooping around for encryption details, keep an eye out for one of our favorite phrases, "Perfect Forward Secrecy." Those three little words can have a hefty impact on your privacy: If one of your VPN's servers is ever breached, Perfect Forward Secrecy ensures that any keys used to decrypt private internet traffic quickly become useless -- giving you more security.

Read more: How We Evaluate and Review VPNs

With just a little bit of elbow grease, any moderately skilled internet jerk can throw together a service that looks like a VPN but is actually little more than a proxy service reselling your internet bandwidth. Not only can that slow your internet speed, it could potentially leave you on the legal hook for whatever they do with that resold bandwidth.

Hola's case was the most famous. The company was caught in 2015 quietly stealing users' bandwidth and reselling it to whatever group wanted to deploy its user base as a botnet. Hola CEO Ofer Vilenski admitted it'd been had, but contended this harvesting of bandwidth was typical for this type of technology.

Read more:How to Set up a VPN on our iPhone or Android Phone: Yes, You Need One

"We assumed that by stating that Hola is a (peer-to-peer) network, it was clear that people were sharing their bandwidth with the community network in return for their free service," he wrote.

Nearly all VPNs slow your browsing speed, some by as much as half. But a brutal crawl can be a sign of something worse than a simple lack of servers. So if being pressed into service as part of a botnet isn't your cup of tea, double-check those suspiciously slow speeds and the reputation of the VPN you're paying for.

For more VPN buying advice, here's how to pick the right VPN for your work-from-home setup. Plus, why we don't recommend US-based VPNs, and three things a VPN can't help you with.

Read the rest here:
Beware, That VPN May Not Be What You Think It Is - CNET

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Meet the new face ofiPhne.Meet the new face of iPhone

Introducing DynamicIsland, a truly Apple innovation thats hardware and software and something in between. It bubbles up music, sports scores, FaceTime, and so much more all without taking you away from what youredoing.

Meet the new face ofiPhne.

Introducing DynamicIsland, a truly Apple innovation thats hardware and software and something in between. It bubbles up music, sports scores, FaceTime, and so much more all without taking you away from what youredoing.

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All-daybattery lifeeven with so manynew capabilities

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If you dont have cell service or WiFi, iPhone lets you text emergency services over satellite.

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The TrueDepth camera and A16Bionic also power FaceID, the most secure facial authentication in a smartphone

iPhone14Pro uses 100% recycled gold wire in all its cameras to reduce mining of precious resources

Say hello to A16Bionic, the ultimate smartphone chip.

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The SecureEnclave in A16Bionic protects personal information like your FaceID data, contacts, and more

Even with soooooo many new capabilities, iPhone14Pro still delivers amazing allday batterylife.

Up to 29

hours video playback on iPhone14ProMax

Up to 23

hours videoplayback on iPhone14Pro

eSIM makes things simple. You can activate your new iPhone or add carriers digitally, so youre calling and texting in no time.

And unlike a physical card, eSIM cant be removed if your iPhone is lost or stolen.

eSIM lets you havemultiple phone numbers and data planson one phone

Traveling is abreezeBefore you go, activate an eSIM for the country youre visiting

Have even more fun with your iPhone.

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Our Specialists can help you shop online or in store.

With AppleTradeIn, you can get credit toward a new iPhone when you trade in an eligible smartphone. Its good for you and the planet.

Learn more about Apple trade in

Join the iPhone Upgrade Program to get the latest iPhone every year, low monthly payments, and AppleCare+.

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You wont find a better place to buy iPhone. We know about carriers, payment options, and more. And we make it easy to understand.

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iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max - Apple