It hasn’t been the best quarter for R. STAHL AG (ETR:RSL2) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 18% in that time. In contrast the stock is up over the last three years. Arguably you’d have been better off buying an index fund, because the gain of 32% in three years isn’t amazing.

So let’s investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business’ progress.

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R. STAHL 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 desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over the last three years R. STAHL has grown its revenue at 9.0% annually. That’s pretty nice growth. The annual gain of 10% over three years is better than nothing, but hardly impresses. So it’s possible that expectations were elevated in the past, muting returns over three years. However, if you can reasonably expect profits in the next few years, this stock might belong on your watchlist.

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

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

Investors in R. STAHL had a tough year, with a total loss of 9.0%, against a market gain of about 18%. 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, last year’s performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 3% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But note: R. STAHL 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 German 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.