Investors might be losing patience for Guanajuato Silver's (CVE:GSVR) increasing losses, as stock sheds 11% over the past week

It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. (CVE:GSVR) share price down 21% in the last month. But over five years returns have been remarkably great. To be precise, the stock price is 500% higher than it was five years ago, a wonderful performance by any measure. So it might be that some shareholders are taking profits after good performance. But the real question is whether the business fundamentals can improve over the long term. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 38% decline over the last twelve months.

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.

View our latest analysis for Guanajuato Silver

Given that Guanajuato Silver 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 expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last 5 years Guanajuato Silver saw its revenue grow at 87% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. Arguably, this is well and truly reflected in the strong share price gain of 43%(per year) over the same period. Despite the strong run, top performers like Guanajuato Silver have been known to go on winning for decades. On the face of it, this looks lke a good opportunity, although we note sentiment seems very positive already.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Take a more thorough look at Guanajuato Silver's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Guanajuato Silver had a tough year, with a total loss of 38%, against a market gain of about 8.0%. 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 43% 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 Guanajuato Silver better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Guanajuato Silver has 4 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

We will like Guanajuato Silver better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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