When we invest, we're generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. And the truth is, you can make significant gains if you buy good quality businesses at the right price. For example, the Sichuan Crun Co., Ltd (SZSE:002272) share price is up 63% in the last 5 years, clearly besting the market return of around 36% (ignoring dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 0.6% in the last year.

Since it's been a strong week for Sichuan Crun shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Sichuan Crun

Sichuan Crun 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 it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

In the last 5 years Sichuan Crun saw its revenue grow at 20% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. While the compound gain of 10% per year is good, it's not unreasonable given the strong revenue growth. If the strong revenue growth continues, we'd expect the share price to follow, in time. Opportunity lies where the market hasn't fully priced growth in the underlying business.

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

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

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Sichuan Crun shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 0.6% over one year. Having said that, the five-year TSR of 11% a year, is even better. Potential buyers might understandably feel they've missed the opportunity, but it's always possible business is still firing on all cylinders. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Sichuan Crun you should know about.

We will like Sichuan Crun better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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.