The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But on the bright side, you can make far more than 100% on a really good stock. For example, the ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300598) share price has soared 176% in the last half decade. Most would be very happy with that. And in the last month, the share price has gained 30%.

Since the stock has added CN¥566m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

Because ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) 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. 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 5 years ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) saw its revenue grow at 29% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. So it's not entirely surprising that the share price reflected this performance by increasing at a rate of 23% per year, in that time. This suggests the market has well and truly recognized the progress the business has made. ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) seems like a high growth stock - so growth investors might want to add it to their watchlist.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing)'s earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 13% in the twelve months, ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) shareholders did even worse, losing 17%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 23%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) (including 1 which is concerning) .

But note: ArcherMind Technology (Nanjing) 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 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.