Despite shrinking by UK£69m in the past week, Helios Towers (LON:HTWS) shareholders are still up 45% over 1 year

While Helios Towers plc (LON:HTWS) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 12% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been pleasing. Looking at the full year, the company has easily bested an index fund by gaining 45%.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 5.9%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

See our latest analysis for Helios Towers

Because Helios Towers 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 hope to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Helios Towers grew its revenue by 18% last year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. Buyers pushed the share price 45% in response, which isn't unreasonable. If the company can maintain the revenue growth, the share price could go higher still. But before deciding this growth stock is underappreciated, you might want to check out profitability trends (and cash flow)

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

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. You can see what analysts are predicting for Helios Towers in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Helios Towers shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 45% over the last year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 1.9% per year over five years. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. 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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Helios Towers you should know about.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: most of them are flying under the radar).

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.