How Much Did Freelancer's(ASX:FLN) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Five Years?

It's nice to see the Freelancer Limited (ASX:FLN) share price up 13% in a week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last half decade have been disappointing. In fact, the share price has declined rather badly, down some 66% in that time. So we're not so sure if the recent bounce should be celebrated. Of course, this could be the start of a turnaround.

Check out our latest analysis for Freelancer

Freelancer wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last half decade, Freelancer saw its revenue increase by 8.1% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. The share price, meanwhile, has fallen 11% compounded, over five years. That suggests the market is disappointed with the current growth rate. A pessimistic market can create opportunities.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Freelancer's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 2.1% in the last year, Freelancer shareholders lost 13%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 11% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest you check here to see what price insiders were buying at.

Freelancer is not the only stock that insiders are buying. 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 AU exchanges.

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