Can You Imagine How Elated Ballard Power Systems's (TSE:BLDP) Shareholders Feel About Its 499% Share Price Gain?

For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. To wit, the Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSE:BLDP) share price has soared 499% over five years. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. On top of that, the share price is up 67% in about a quarter.

Check out our latest analysis for Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

For the last half decade, Ballard Power Systems can boast revenue growth at a rate of 12% per year. That's a pretty good long term growth rate. However, the share price gain of 43% during the period is considerably stronger. We usually like strong growth stocks but it does seem the market already appreciates this one quite well!

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Ballard Power Systems has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 169% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 43%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.