Pubang Landscape Architecture (SZSE:002663) sheds CN¥303m, company earnings and investor returns have been trending downwards for past five years

Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But no-one is immune from buying too high. To wit, the Pubang Landscape Architecture Co., Ltd (SZSE:002663) share price managed to fall 58% over five long years. That's an unpleasant experience for long term holders. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 30%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 21% in the last 90 days.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

View our latest analysis for Pubang Landscape Architecture

Given that Pubang Landscape Architecture only made minimal earnings in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue to gauge its business development. As a general rule, we think this kind of company is more comparable to loss-making stocks, since the actual profit is so low. It would be hard to believe in a more profitable future without growing revenues.

Over half a decade Pubang Landscape Architecture reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 9.9% for each year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. It seems appropriate, then, that the share price slid about 10% annually during that time. We don't generally like to own companies that lose money and don't grow revenues. You might be better off spending your money on a leisure activity. This looks like a really risky stock to buy, at a glance.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on Pubang Landscape Architecture's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 12% in the twelve months, Pubang Landscape Architecture shareholders did even worse, losing 30%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 10% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Pubang Landscape Architecture better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Pubang Landscape Architecture is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.