With 7.5% Earnings Growth Lately, Did County Bancorp Inc (ICBK) Outperform The Industry?

Examining County Bancorp Inc’s (NASDAQ:ICBK) past track record of performance is an insightful exercise for investors. It allows us to reflect on whether or not the company has met or exceed expectations, which is a great indicator for future performance. Today I will assess ICBK’s latest performance announced on 30 September 2017 and compare these figures to its longer term trend and industry movements. See our latest analysis for ICBK

Did ICBK’s recent EPS Growth beat the long-term trend and the industry?

For the most up-to-date info, I use the ‘latest twelve-month’ data, which either annualizes the most recent 6-month earnings update, or in some cases, the most recent annual report is already the latest available financial data. This technique allows me to analyze many different companies on a similar basis, using new information. For County Bancorp, the most recent bottom-line is $11.4M, which, against last year’s figure, has climbed up by 17.27%. Since these values may be relatively short-term, I’ve estimated an annualized five-year figure for ICBK’s net income, which stands at $9.2M. This suggests that, generally, County Bancorp has been able to gradually raise its earnings over the past few years as well.

NasdaqGM:ICBK Income Statement Dec 7th 17
NasdaqGM:ICBK Income Statement Dec 7th 17

What’s the driver of this growth? Let’s take a look at whether it is solely a result of an industry uplift, or if County Bancorp has experienced some company-specific growth. Over the past couple of years, County Bancorp increased its bottom line faster than revenue by efficiently controlling its costs. This brought about a margin expansion and profitability over time. Scanning growth from a sector-level, the US banks industry has been growing its average earnings by double-digit 10.09% in the past year, and a less exciting 9.05% over the past five. This means whatever tailwind the industry is gaining from, County Bancorp is able to leverage this to its advantage.

What does this mean?

County Bancorp’s track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. While County Bancorp has a good historical track record with positive growth and profitability, there’s no certainty that this will extrapolate into the future. I recommend you continue to research County Bancorp to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for ICBK’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for ICBK’s outlook.

2. Financial Health: Is ICBK’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.

3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.

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