Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. And the truth is, you can make significant gains if you buy good quality businesses at the right price. For example, long term (SGX:C6L) shareholders have enjoyed a 77% share price rise over the last half decade, well in excess of the market return of around 20% (not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 8.6% in the last year, including dividends.

So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

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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 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, Singapore Airlines became profitable. That's generally thought to be a genuine positive, so investors may expect to see an increasing share price.

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

We know that Singapore Airlines has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at Singapore Airlines' financial health with this report on its balance sheet.

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Singapore Airlines' TSR for the last 5 years was 104%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

Singapore Airlines shareholders are up 8.6% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 15% per year for five years. It may well be that this is a business worth popping on the watching, given the continuing positive reception, over time, from the market. 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. Take risks, for example - Singapore Airlines has (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.