Elsight (ASX:ELS) shareholder returns have been impressive, earning 104% in 1 year

Unfortunately, investing is risky - companies can and do go bankrupt. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For example, the Elsight Limited (ASX:ELS) share price has soared 104% return in just a single year. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 49% gain in the last three months. And shareholders have also done well over the long term, with an increase of 33% in the last three years.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for Elsight

Elsight isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last year Elsight saw its revenue grow by 87%. That's stonking growth even when compared to other loss-making stocks. And the share price has responded, gaining 104% as we previously mentioned. It's great to see strong revenue growth, but the question is whether it can be sustained. The strong share price rise indicates optimism, so there may be a better opportunity for buyers as the hype fades a bit.

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

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Elsight has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 104% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 10% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Elsight you should be aware of, and 3 of them don't sit too well with us.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of undervalued small caps that insiders are 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.