Shareholders in Television Broadcasts (HKG:511) have lost 79%, as stock drops 12% this past week

We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. Imagine if you held Television Broadcasts Limited (HKG:511) for half a decade as the share price tanked 81%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 14% in the last 90 days. While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

With the stock having lost 12% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

See our latest analysis for Television Broadcasts

Given that Television Broadcasts didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last five years Television Broadcasts saw its revenue shrink by 7.1% per year. That's not what investors generally want to see. If a business loses money, you want it to grow, so no surprises that the share price has dropped 13% each year in that time. We're generally averse to companies with declining revenues, but we're not alone in that. That is not really what the successful investors we know aim for.

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

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

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 3.4% in the twelve months, Television Broadcasts shareholders did even worse, losing 13%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 12% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Television Broadcasts better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Television Broadcasts 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 Hong Kong 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.