Introducing GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), A Stock That Climbed 96% In The Last Five Years

When we invest, we're generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. And in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. To wit, the GW Pharmaceuticals share price has climbed 96% in five years, easily topping the market return of 42% (ignoring dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 15% in the last year.

See our latest analysis for GW Pharmaceuticals

Because GW Pharmaceuticals is loss-making, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last 5 years GW Pharmaceuticals saw its revenue shrink by 20% per year. Despite the lack of revenue growth, the stock has returned a respectable 14%, compound, over that time. It's probably worth checking other factors such as the profitability, to try to understand the share price action. It may not be reflecting the revenue.

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think GW Pharmaceuticals will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that GW Pharmaceuticals shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 15% over one year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 14% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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

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.

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. Thank you for reading.