Enviri Corporation (NYSE:NVRI) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 27% in the last quarter. But don't envy holders -- looking back over 5 years the returns have been really bad. Indeed, the share price is down 60% in the period. So we're not so sure if the recent bounce should be celebrated. We'd err towards caution given the long term under-performance.

Although the past week has been more reassuring for shareholders, they're still in the red over the last five years, so let's see if the underlying business has been responsible for the decline.

See our latest analysis for Enviri

Enviri 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. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last half decade, Enviri saw its revenue increase by 8.4% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. The share price, meanwhile, has fallen 10% compounded, over five years. It seems probably that the business has failed to live up to initial expectations. A pessimistic market can create opportunities.

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

This free interactive report on Enviri's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Enviri has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 23% in the last twelve months. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 10% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. Before spending more time on Enviri it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

But note: Enviri 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 American 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.