Despite currently being unprofitable, Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) has delivered a 221% return to shareholders over 5 years

When you buy a stock there is always a possibility that it could drop 100%. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. One great example is Bellevue Gold Limited (ASX:BGL) which saw its share price drive 221% higher over five years. On the other hand, the stock price has retraced 3.7% in the last week. However, this might be related to the overall market decline of 0.4% in a week.

While this past week has detracted from the company's five-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

See our latest analysis for Bellevue Gold

Given that Bellevue Gold didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

For the last half decade, Bellevue Gold can boast revenue growth at a rate of 105% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. So it's not entirely surprising that the share price reflected this performance by increasing at a rate of 26% per year, in that time. So it seems likely that buyers have paid attention to the strong revenue growth. Bellevue Gold seems like a high growth stock - so growth investors might want to add it to their watchlist.

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

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Bellevue Gold

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Bellevue Gold shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 26% over the last year. However, that falls short of the 26% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Bellevue Gold better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Bellevue Gold that you should be aware of before investing here.

Bellevue Gold is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com