Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium (SHSE:603399) shareholders are up 8.7% this past week, but still in the red over the last three years

Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium Co., Ltd (SHSE:603399) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 15% in the last month. Meanwhile over the last three years the stock has dropped hard. In that time, the share price dropped 57%. So it is really good to see an improvement. The rise has some hopeful, but turnarounds are often precarious.

On a more encouraging note the company has added CN¥392m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the three-year loss for shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium

Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last three years, Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium saw its revenue grow by 22% per year, compound. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. In contrast, the share price is down 16% compound, over three years - disappointing by most standards. This could mean hype has come out of the stock because the losses are concerning investors. When we see revenue growth, paired with a falling share price, we can't help wonder if there is an opportunity for those who are willing to dig deeper.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil 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

It's good to see that Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 26% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 1.5%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its 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.