SUSE (ETR:SUSE shareholders incur further losses as stock declines 4.6% this week, taking one-year losses to 50%

Even the best stock pickers will make plenty of bad investments. Anyone who held SUSE S.A. (ETR:SUSE) over the last year knows what a loser feels like. In that relatively short period, the share price has plunged 50%. SUSE may have better days ahead, of course; we've only looked at a one year period. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 22% in the last 90 days.

If the past week is anything to go by, investor sentiment for SUSE isn't positive, so let's see if there's a mismatch between fundamentals and the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for SUSE

Given that SUSE didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last year SUSE saw its revenue grow by 9.3%. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. Without profits, and with revenue growth sluggish, you get a 50% loss for shareholders, over the year. Like many holders, we really want to see better revenue growth in companies that lose money. When a stock falls hard like this, it can signal an over-reaction. Our preference is to wait for a fundamental improvements before buying, but now could be a good time for some research.

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

This free interactive report on SUSE's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Given that the market gained 7.7% in the last year, SUSE shareholders might be miffed that they lost 50%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. With the stock down 22% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for SUSE that you should be aware of.

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 German 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.