It's nice to see the NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) share price up 17% in a week. But will that repair the damage for the weary investors who have owned this stock as it declined over half a decade? Probably not. Five years have seen the share price descend precipitously, down a full 77%. The recent bounce might mean the long decline is over, but we are not confident. The fundamental business performance will ultimately determine if the turnaround can be sustained.

While the stock has risen 17% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

Check out our latest analysis for NETGEAR

NETGEAR isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last five years NETGEAR saw its revenue shrink by 1.7% per year. While far from catastrophic that is not good. The share price fall of 12% (per year, over five years) is a stern reminder that money-losing companies are expected to grow revenue. We're generally averse to companies with declining revenues, but we're not alone in that. That is not really what the successful investors we know aim for.

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 NETGEAR's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

NETGEAR shareholders are down 35% for the year, but the market itself is up 6.1%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 12% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand NETGEAR better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that NETGEAR is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

Of course NETGEAR may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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.