We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. While the best companies are hard to find, but they can generate massive returns over long periods. To wit, the Regis Healthcare Limited (ASX:REG) share price has soared 400% over five years. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. Unfortunately, though, the stock has dropped 4.8% over a week. But this could be related to the soft market, with stocks selling off around 4.2% in the last week.

In light of the stock dropping 4.8% in the past week, we want to investigate the longer term story, and see if fundamentals have been the driver of the company's positive five-year return.

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We don't think that Regis Healthcare's modest trailing twelve month profit has the market's full attention at the moment. We think revenue is probably a better guide. As a general rule, we think this kind of company is more comparable to loss-making stocks, since the actual profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

For the last half decade, Regis Healthcare can boast revenue growth at a rate of 9.8% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. Arguably it's more than reflected in the very strong share price gain of 38% a year over a half a decade. It might not be cheap but a (long-term) growth stock like this is usually well worth taking a closer look at.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We know that Regis Healthcare has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Regis Healthcare

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Regis Healthcare, it has a TSR of 478% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Regis Healthcare shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 73% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 42% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Even so, be aware that Regis Healthcare is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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

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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.