Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Spare a thought for those who held Xinlun New Materials Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002341) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 73%. The last week also saw the share price slip down another 11%.

After losing 11% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

See our latest analysis for Xinlun New Materials

Xinlun New Materials isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Over half a decade Xinlun New Materials reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 30% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. So it's not that strange that the share price dropped 12% per year in that period. We don't think this is a particularly promising picture. Ironically, that behavior could create an opportunity for the contrarian investor - but only if there are good reasons to predict a brighter future.

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

If you are thinking of buying or selling Xinlun New Materials stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

The total return of 8.6% received by Xinlun New Materials shareholders over the last year isn't far from the market return of -9.5%. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 12% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. Generally speaking we'd prefer see an improvement in the fundamental metrics before becoming enthusiastic about the stock. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Xinlun New Materials better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Xinlun New Materials .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.