For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.
Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Coffee Holding (NASDAQ:JVA). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.
Coffee Holding’s Improving Profits
In the last three years Coffee Holding’s earnings per share took off; so much so that it’s a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Impressively, Coffee Holding’s EPS catapulted from US$0.32 to US$0.83, over the last year. It’s a rarity to see 154% year-on-year growth like that.
One way to double-check a company’s growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. The music to the ears of Coffee Holding shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 3.4% to 6.0% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
See our latest analysis for Coffee Holding
Since Coffee Holding is no giant, with a market capitalisation of US$22m, you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects.
Are Coffee Holding Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It’s a good habit to check into a company’s remuneration policies to ensure that the CEO and management team aren’t putting their own interests before that of the shareholder with excessive salary packages. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Coffee Holding with market caps under US$200m is about US$653k.
The Coffee Holding CEO received US$436k in compensation for the year ending October 2025. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.
Should You Add Coffee Holding To Your Watchlist?
Coffee Holding’s earnings per share have been soaring, with growth rates sky high. With increasing profits, its seems likely the business has a rosy future; and it may have hit an inflection point. At the same time the reasonable CEO compensation reflects well on the board of directors. It will definitely require further research to be sure, but it does seem that Coffee Holding has the hallmarks of a quality business; and that would make it well worth watching. You still need to take note of risks, for example – Coffee Holding has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
Although Coffee Holding certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with more skin in the game, then check out this handpicked selection of companies that not only boast of strong growth but have strong insider backing.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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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.