Shareholders in Geox (BIT:GEO) have lost 56%, as stock drops 16% this past week

Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But unfortunately, some companies simply don't succeed. Zooming in on an example, the Geox S.p.A. (BIT:GEO) share price dropped 59% in the last half decade. We certainly feel for shareholders who bought near the top. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 17% in the last 90 days.

Since Geox has shed €43m from its value in the past 7 days, let's see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business' economics.

See our latest analysis for Geox

Given that Geox 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. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last five years Geox saw its revenue shrink by 9.3% per year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. Arguably, the market has responded appropriately to this business performance by sending the share price down 10% (annualized) in the same time period. We don't generally like to own companies that lose money and don't grow revenues. You might be better off spending your money on a leisure activity. This looks like a really risky stock to buy, at a glance.

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

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Geox's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Geox's TSR of was a loss of 56% for the 5 years. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

Geox shareholders are up 9.1% for the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 9% per year, over five years. It could well be that the business is stabilizing. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Geox better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Geox has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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