The 21% return this week takes McBride's (LON:MCB) shareholders one-year gains to 335%

While stock picking isn't easy, for those willing to persist and learn, it is possible to buy shares in great companies, and generate wonderful returns. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. For example, McBride plc (LON:MCB) has generated a beautiful 335% return in just a single year. On top of that, the share price is up 97% in about a quarter. However, the longer term returns haven't been so impressive, with the stock up just 7.4% in the last three years.

The past week has proven to be lucrative for McBride investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's one-year performance.

View our latest analysis for McBride

McBride 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. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

McBride grew its revenue by 31% last year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. Arguably it's more than reflected in the truly wondrous share price gain of 335% in the last year. We're always cautious when the share price is up so much, but there's certainly enough revenue growth to justify taking a closer look at McBride.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

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

It's good to see that McBride has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 335% in the last twelve months. That certainly beats the loss of about 4% per year over the last half decade. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand McBride better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for McBride (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.