By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But many of us dare to dream of bigger returns, and build a portfolio ourselves. For example, Sinodata Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002657) shareholders have seen the share price rise 97% over three years, well in excess of the market decline (17%, not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 9.8% in the last year.

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

Given that Sinodata 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last 3 years Sinodata saw its revenue shrink by 25% per year. The revenue growth might be lacking but the share price has gained 25% each year in that time. If the company is cutting costs profitability could be on the horizon, but the revenue decline is a prima facie concern.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Take a more thorough look at Sinodata's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Sinodata shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 9.8% over the last year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 1.8% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But note: Sinodata may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.