New Guomai Digital Culture Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600640) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 15% in the last month. But if you look at the last five years the returns have not been good. You would have done a lot better buying an index fund, since the stock has dropped 30% in that half decade.

On a more encouraging note the company has added CN¥756m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the five-year loss for shareholders.

Because New Guomai Digital Culture 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. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong 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 five years New Guomai Digital Culture saw its revenue shrink by 12% per year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. It seems pretty reasonable to us that the share price dipped 5% per year in that time. This loss means the stock shareholders are probably pretty annoyed. It is possible for businesses to bounce back but as Buffett says, 'turnarounds seldom turn'.

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

If you are thinking of buying or selling New Guomai Digital Culture stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that New Guomai Digital Culture shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 2.4% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 5% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the 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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for New Guomai Digital Culture you should know about.

We will like New Guomai Digital Culture better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) 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.