The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Total Energy Services (TSE:TOT), which has not only revenues, but also profits. 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.

We’ve discovered 1 warning sign about Total Energy Services. View them for free.

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Total Energy Services’ shareholders have have plenty to be happy about as their annual EPS growth for the last 3 years was 43%. Growth that fast may well be fleeting, but it should be more than enough to pique the interest of the wary stock pickers.

It’s often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company’s growth. Total Energy Services reported flat revenue and EBIT margins over the last year. That’s not bad, but it doesn’t point to ongoing future growth, either.

The chart below shows how the company’s bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

See our latest analysis for Total Energy Services

Total Energy Services isn’t a huge company, given its market capitalisation of CA$343m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

Investors are always searching for a vote of confidence in the companies they hold and insider buying is one of the key indicators for optimism on the market. Because often, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, insiders are sometimes wrong, and we don’t know the exact thinking behind their acquisitions.

Although we did see some insider selling (worth CA$14m) this was overshadowed by a mountain of buying, totalling CA$17m in just one year. We find this encouraging because it suggests they are optimistic about Total Energy Services’future. It is also worth noting that it was President Daniel Halyk who made the biggest single purchase, worth CA$14m, paying CA$9.38 per share.