Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 11% in the last month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last half decade have been disappointing. In fact, the share price has declined rather badly, down some 66% in that time. So we're hesitant to put much weight behind the short term increase. We'd err towards caution given the long term under-performance.

While the stock has risen 6.3% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

View our latest analysis for Viasat

Because Viasat 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. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Over five years, Viasat grew its revenue at 7.1% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. The share price, meanwhile, has fallen 11% compounded, over five years. That suggests the market is disappointed with the current growth rate. A pessimistic market can create opportunities.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

A Different Perspective

Viasat shareholders are down 31% for the year, but the market itself is up 14%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 11% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Viasat (1 can't be ignored) that you should be aware of.

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 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.