While shareholders of Columbus Energy (WSE:CLC) are in the black over 1 year, those who bought a week ago aren't so fortunate

Columbus Energy S.A. (WSE:CLC) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 14% in the last week. But that doesn't change the reality that over twelve months the stock has done really well. Looking at the full year, the company has easily bested an index fund by gaining 68%.

While this past week has detracted from the company's one-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

Check out our latest analysis for Columbus Energy

Columbus Energy isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong 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.

Columbus Energy actually shrunk its revenue over the last year, with a reduction of 38%. Despite the lack of revenue growth, the stock has returned a solid 68% the last twelve months. To us that means that there isn't a lot of correlation between the past revenue performance and the share price, but a closer look at analyst forecasts and the bottom line may well explain a lot.

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

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Columbus Energy shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 68% over one year. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 6% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Columbus Energy better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Columbus Energy you should be aware of.

We will like Columbus Energy better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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