Further weakness as Copperleaf Technologies (TSE:CPLF) drops 10% this week, taking one-year losses to 75%

The art and science of stock market investing requires a tolerance for losing money on some of the shares you buy. But it's not unreasonable to try to avoid truly shocking capital losses. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of Copperleaf Technologies Inc. (TSE:CPLF); the share price is down a whopping 75% in the last twelve months. A loss like this is a stark reminder that portfolio diversification is important. We wouldn't rush to judgement on Copperleaf Technologies because we don't have a long term history to look at. Furthermore, it's down 11% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

After losing 10% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

Check out our latest analysis for Copperleaf Technologies

Copperleaf Technologies 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 expect to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Copperleaf Technologies grew its revenue by 29% over the last year. That's definitely a respectable growth rate. However, it seems like the market wanted more, since the share price is down 75%. One fear might be that the company might be losing too much money and will need to raise more. It seems that the market has concerns about the future, because that share price action does not seem to reflect the revenue growth at all.

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

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. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

We doubt Copperleaf Technologies shareholders are happy with the loss of 75% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 7.0%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. The share price decline has continued throughout the most recent three months, down 11%, suggesting an absence of enthusiasm from investors. Given the relatively short history of this stock, we'd remain pretty wary until we see some strong business performance. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Copperleaf Technologies (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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

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

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.