Would Shareholders Who Purchased EPC Groupe's (EPA:EXPL) Stock Three Years Be Happy With The Share price Today?

As an investor its worth striving to ensure your overall portfolio beats the market average. But the risk of stock picking is that you will likely buy under-performing companies. We regret to report that long term EPC Groupe (EPA:EXPL) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 46% in three years, versus a market return of about 20%. And over the last year the share price fell 35%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. Furthermore, it's down 23% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

Check out our latest analysis for EPC Groupe

Because EPC Groupe made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over three years, EPC Groupe grew revenue at 1.3% per year. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. The stock dropped 14% during that time. Shareholders will probably be hoping growth picks up soon. But ultimately the key will be whether the company can become profitability.

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

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 0.1% in the twelve months, EPC Groupe shareholders did even worse, losing 35%. 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 0.9% 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. 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. Even so, be aware that EPC Groupe is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

We will like EPC Groupe better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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