Fujian Start Group Co.Ltd (SHSE:600734) shareholders will doubtless be very grateful to see the share price up 47% in the last quarter. But over the last half decade, the stock has not performed well. After all, the share price is down 37% in that time, significantly under-performing the market.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

While Fujian Start GroupLtd made a small profit, in the last year, we think that the market is probably more focussed on the top line growth at the moment. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

In the last five years Fujian Start GroupLtd saw its revenue shrink by 48% per year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. It seems pretty reasonable to us that the share price dipped 7% per year in that time. We doubt many shareholders are delighted with this share price performance. Risk averse investors probably wouldn't like this one much.

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 Fujian Start GroupLtd stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Fujian Start GroupLtd has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 21% in the last twelve months. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 7% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Fujian Start GroupLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Fujian Start GroupLtd you should know about.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

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.