Dril-Quip (NYSE:DRQ) shareholders have endured a 58% loss from investing in the stock three years ago

The truth is that if you invest for long enough, you're going to end up with some losing stocks. But the last three years have been particularly tough on longer term Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ) shareholders. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 58% drop in the share price over that period. Furthermore, it's down 25% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Dril-Quip

Dril-Quip isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last three years Dril-Quip saw its revenue shrink by 8.8% per year. That is not a good result. The share price decline of 16% compound, over three years, is understandable given the company doesn't have profits to boast of, and revenue is moving in the wrong direction. Of course, it's the future that will determine whether today's price is a good one. We'd be pretty wary of this one until it makes a profit, because we don't specialize in finding turnaround situations.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

Take a more thorough look at Dril-Quip's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, Dril-Quip shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 4.3% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 16%. Of far more concern is the 8% p.a. loss served to shareholders over the last five years. This sort of share price action isn't particularly encouraging, but at least the losses are slowing. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

But note: Dril-Quip may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list 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 US 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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