If you love investing in stocks you're bound to buy some losers. But the long term shareholders of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) have had an unfortunate run in the last three years. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 54% drop in the share price over that period. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 11% in the last three months. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

After losing 4.8% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

Given that Exact Sciences didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over three years, Exact Sciences grew revenue at 17% per year. That's a pretty good rate of top-line growth. So some shareholders would be frustrated with the compound loss of 16% per year. The market must have had really high expectations to be disappointed with this progress. So this is one stock that might be worth investigating further, or even adding to your watchlist.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Exact Sciences is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. If you are thinking of buying or selling Exact Sciences stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 31% in the last year, Exact Sciences shareholders lost 12%. 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 6% 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. You could get a better understanding of Exact Sciences' growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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 American 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.