First Capital's (NASDAQ:FCAP) three-year earnings growth trails the solid shareholder returns

The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For instance the First Capital, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCAP) share price is 179% higher than it was three years ago. Most would be happy with that. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 50% gain in the last three months. The past week has proven to be lucrative for First Capital investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's three-year performance. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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 three years of share price growth, First Capital achieved compound earnings per share growth of 9.7% per year. In comparison, the 41% per year gain in the share price outpaces the EPS growth. This suggests that, as the business progressed over the last few years, it gained the confidence of market participants. It's not unusual to see the market 're-rate' a stock, after a few years of growth. You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). NasdaqCM:FCAP Earnings Per Share Growth December 17th 2025 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. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of First Capital's earnings, revenue and cash flow. What About Dividends? As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. In the case of First Capital, it has a TSR of 210% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! A Different Perspective It's good to see that First Capital has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 128% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 3% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Before spending more time on First Capital it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares. Of course First Capital may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.Mobile Infrastructure for Defense and DisasterThe next wave in robotics isn't humanoid. Its fully autonomous towers delivering 5G, ISR, and radar in under 30 minutes, anywhere.Get the investor briefing before the next round of contractsSponsored On Behalf of CiTech