Yahoo Finance Shareholders in Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) are in the red if they invested three years ago
As an investor, mistakes are inevitable. But really bad investments should be rare. So consider, for a moment, the misfortune of Creso Pharma Limited (ASX:CPH) investors who have held the stock for three years as it declined a whopping 78%. That might cause some serious doubts about the merits of the initial decision to buy the stock, to put it mildly. Unfortunately the share price momentum is still quite negative, with prices down 32% in thirty days.
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.
Check out our latest analysis for Creso Pharma
Creso Pharma wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.
Over three years, Creso Pharma grew revenue at 53% per year. That is faster than most pre-profit companies. So why has the share priced crashed 21% per year, in the same time? You'd want to take a close look at the balance sheet, as well as the losses. Ultimately, revenue growth doesn't amount to much if the business can't scale well. If the company is low on cash, it may have to raise capital soon.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.
A Different Perspective
Investors in Creso Pharma had a tough year, with a total loss of 8.0%, against a market gain of about 15%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 10% doled out over the last five years. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Creso Pharma better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 6 warning signs we've spotted with Creso Pharma (including 3 which are concerning) .
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU 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.
