Dialight (LON:DIA investor five-year losses grow to 66% as the stock sheds UK£7.7m this past week

We think intelligent long term investing is the way to go. But along the way some stocks are going to perform badly. For example, after five long years the Dialight plc (LON:DIA) share price is a whole 66% lower. That is extremely sub-optimal, to say the least. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 27%. The last week also saw the share price slip down another 11%.

With the stock having lost 11% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

View our latest analysis for Dialight

Dialight wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last half decade, Dialight saw its revenue increase by 0.2% per year. That's far from impressive given all the money it is losing. It's likely this weak growth has contributed to an annualised return of 11% for the last five years. We'd want to see proof that future revenue growth is likely to be significantly stronger before getting too interested in Dialight. When a stock falls hard like this, some investors like to add the company to a watchlist (in case the business recovers, longer term).

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 5.2% in the last year, Dialight shareholders lost 27%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 11% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Dialight 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 British 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.