Investors might be losing patience for Archer Materials' (ASX:AXE) increasing losses, as stock sheds 11% over the past week

The last three months have been tough on Archer Materials Limited (ASX:AXE) shareholders, who have seen the share price decline a rather worrying 43%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been very strong. Indeed, the share price is up an impressive 183% in that time. We think it's more important to dwell on the long term returns than the short term returns. The more important question is whether the stock is too cheap or too expensive today. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for five years, so spare a thought for those caught in the 63% decline over the last three years: that's a long time to wait for profits.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Archer Materials

Archer Materials isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.

For the last half decade, Archer Materials can boast revenue growth at a rate of 41% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. So it's not entirely surprising that the share price reflected this performance by increasing at a rate of 23% per year, in that time. So it seems likely that buyers have paid attention to the strong revenue growth. To our minds that makes Archer Materials worth investigating - it may have its best days ahead.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

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

Archer Materials shareholders are down 43% for the year, but the market itself is up 14%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 23% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Archer Materials better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Archer Materials (1 is a bit unpleasant) that you should be aware of.

Of course Archer Materials may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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