Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies' (NYSE:WAB) investors will be pleased with their impressive 205% return over the last five years

When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But on the bright side, you can make far more than 100% on a really good stock. For instance, the price of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (NYSE:WAB) stock is up an impressive 196% over the last five years.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

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.

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 imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Over half a decade, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies managed to grow its earnings per share at 23% a year. That makes the EPS growth particularly close to the yearly share price growth of 24%. This indicates that investor sentiment towards the company has not changed a great deal. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).NYSE:WAB Earnings Per Share Growth November 9th 2025

We know that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this freereport showing analyst revenue forecasts.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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 Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, it has a TSR of 205% 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

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies shareholders are up 3.3% for the year (even including dividends). But that return falls short of the market. It's probably a good sign that the company has an even better long term track record, having provided shareholders with an annual TSR of 25% over five years. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies you should be aware of.

Story Continues

But note: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this freelist 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 American 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.

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