To be fair, ANZ has a very good record of long term 'eps' growth. So good, that I took my eye off the ball and just let ANZ management 'do their thing'. The problem for ANZ shareholders now is that ANZ eps growth has stalled. Yet the recapitalisation that took place in 2015 and partially contributed to eps stalling is not altogether a bad thing.
The recapitalisation trade off for shareholders is that ANZ is now 'better set up' for a market shock, like a sudden decline in house prices. As I see it, the risk return trade off is now different.
The question going forwards is, will eps:
1/ plateau at this level?
2/ resume a slower upwards climb?
3/ undergo a slow decline as new disruptive players (like Apple and Heartland) muscle in on what was once a cosy high barriers to entry market?
My best guess now is that the answer will be 1/.
If I am right, this means that the gains in ANZ share price of recent years will likely not continue. Does this matter? I would argue that if the dividend yield is still good (and I think it is), you should moderate any growth expectations and just keep harvesting those dividends.
SNOOPY