Despite shrinking by CN¥596m in the past week, Jiangxi Special Electric MotorLtd (SZSE:002176) shareholders are still up 168% over 5 years

The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But on the bright side, you can make far more than 100% on a really good stock. For instance, the price of Jiangxi Special Electric Motor Co.,Ltd (SZSE:002176) stock is up an impressive 168% over the last five years. On top of that, the share price is up 31% in about a quarter. But this could be related to the strong market, which is up 33% in the last three months.

While the stock has fallen 3.9% this week, it's worth focusing on the longer term and seeing if the stocks historical returns have been driven by the underlying fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Jiangxi Special Electric MotorLtd

Jiangxi Special Electric MotorLtd 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. 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, Jiangxi Special Electric MotorLtd can boast revenue growth at a rate of 8.8% per year. That's a pretty good long term growth rate. Broadly speaking, this solid progress may well be reflected by the healthy share price gain of 22% per year over five years. It's well worth monitoring the growth trend in revenue, because if growth accelerates, that might signal an opportunity. Accelerating growth can be a sign of an inflection point - and could indicate profits lie ahead. Worth watching 100%

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

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

A Different Perspective

Investors in Jiangxi Special Electric MotorLtd had a tough year, with a total loss of 26%, against a market gain of about 12%. 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 22%, each year, over five years. 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. You could get a better understanding of Jiangxi Special Electric MotorLtd's growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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 Chinese 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.