Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. Buying under-rated businesses is one path to excess returns. For example, the Xiamen Changelight Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300102) share price is up 44% in the last 5 years, clearly besting the market return of around 28% (ignoring dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven't been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 21%.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Xiamen Changelight

Because Xiamen Changelight made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

For the last half decade, Xiamen Changelight can boast revenue growth at a rate of 17% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. While the compound gain of 8% per year is good, it's not unreasonable given the strong revenue growth. If the strong revenue growth continues, we'd expect the share price to follow, in time. Of course, you'll have to research the business more fully to figure out if this is an attractive opportunity.

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

Take a more thorough look at Xiamen Changelight's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Xiamen Changelight shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 21% over one year. That's better than the annualised return of 8% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Xiamen Changelight better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Xiamen Changelight that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Chinese 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.