No-one enjoys it when they lose money on a stock. But no-one can make money on every call, especially in a declining market. The TPV Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000727) share price is down 24% in the last three years. On the bright side, that's better than the market decline of 27%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 17% in the last 90 days.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

TPV Technology became profitable within the last five years. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So it's worth looking at other metrics to try to understand the share price move.

Arguably the revenue decline of 12% per year has people thinking TPV Technology is shrinking. And that's not surprising, since it seems unlikely that EPS growth can continue for long in the absence of revenue growth.

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

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

A Different Perspective

While it's certainly disappointing to see that TPV Technology shares lost 3.8% throughout the year, that wasn't as bad as the market loss of 16%. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it's worse than the annualised loss of 2% over the last half decade. Whilst Baron Rothschild does tell the investor "buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own", buyers would need to examine the data carefully to be comfortable that the business itself is sound. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand TPV Technology better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that TPV Technology is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can 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.

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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.

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