Even though iCollege (ASX:ICT) has lost AU$16m market cap in last 7 days, shareholders are still up 64% over 3 years

The iCollege Limited (ASX:ICT) share price has had a bad week, falling 12%. But that shouldn't obscure the pleasing returns achieved by shareholders over the last three years. To wit, the share price did better than an index fund, climbing 64% during that period.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 12%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for iCollege

While iCollege 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. As a general rule, we think this kind of company is more comparable to loss-making stocks, since the actual profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

In the last 3 years iCollege saw its revenue grow at 40% per year. That's much better than most loss-making companies. While the compound gain of 18% per year over three years is pretty good, you might argue it doesn't fully reflect the strong revenue growth. So now might be the perfect time to put iCollege on your radar. If the company is trending towards profitability then it could be very interesting.

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

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on iCollege's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

iCollege shareholders are down 4.2% for the year, but the broader market is up 16%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Fortunately the longer term story is brighter, with total returns averaging about 18% per year over three years. Sometimes when a good quality long term winner has a weak period, it's turns out to be an opportunity, but you really need to be sure that the quality is there. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that iCollege is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

iCollege is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

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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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.