Agile Content (BME:AGIL) shareholder returns have been stellar, earning 153% in 5 years

When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For instance, the price of Agile Content, S.A. (BME:AGIL) stock is up an impressive 140% over the last five years. And in the last week the share price has popped 13%.

Since it's been a strong week for Agile Content shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

See our latest analysis for Agile Content

Agile Content 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 expect to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

For the last half decade, Agile Content can boast revenue growth at a rate of 55% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. So it's not entirely surprising that the share price reflected this performance by increasing at a rate of 19% per year, in that time. This suggests the market has well and truly recognized the progress the business has made. Agile Content seems like a high growth stock - so growth investors might want to add it to their watchlist.

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

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

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Agile Content's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Agile Content hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of 153% exceeds its share price return of 140%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 11% in the last year, Agile Content shareholders lost 23%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 20% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Agile Content (at least 1 which is potentially serious) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course Agile Content may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Spanish 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.