Investors in Highlight Event and Entertainment (VTX:HLEE) from three years ago are still down 73%, even after 17% gain this past week

It's nice to see the Highlight Event and Entertainment AG (VTX:HLEE) share price up 17% in a week. But that is meagre solace in the face of the shocking decline over three years. Indeed, the share price is down a whopping 74% in the last three years. So we're relieved for long term holders to see a bit of uplift. Only time will tell if the company can sustain the turnaround.

While the stock has risen 17% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

See our latest analysis for Highlight Event and Entertainment

Highlight Event and Entertainment 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.

In the last three years Highlight Event and Entertainment saw its revenue shrink by 2.2% per year. That is not a good result. The share price fall of 20% (per year, over three years) is a stern reminder that money-losing companies are expected to grow revenue. This business clearly needs to grow revenues if it is to perform as investors hope. There's no more than a snowball's chance in hell that share price will head back to its old highs, in the short term.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

A Different Perspective

Investors in Highlight Event and Entertainment had a tough year, with a total loss of 43%, against a market gain of about 7.2%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 10% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Highlight Event and Entertainment you should be aware of, and 2 of them shouldn't be ignored.

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 Swiss 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