Even after rising 11% this past week, IMC (WSE:IMC) shareholders are still down 64% over the past three years

IMC S.A. (WSE:IMC) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 17% in the last month. Meanwhile over the last three years the stock has dropped hard. In that time, the share price dropped 65%. So the improvement may be a real relief to some. The rise has some hopeful, but turnarounds are often precarious.

The recent uptick of 11% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for IMC

IMC 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 would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.

In the last three years IMC saw its revenue shrink by 2.4% per year. That's not what investors generally want to see. With revenue in decline, and profit but a dream, we can understand why the share price has been declining at 18% per year. Having said that, if growth is coming in the future, now may be the low ebb for the company. We'd be pretty wary of this one until it makes a profit, because we don't specialize in finding turnaround situations.

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

If you are thinking of buying or selling IMC stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

IMC provided a TSR of 8.6% over the last twelve months. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 0.6% over half a decade It is possible that returns will improve along with the business fundamentals. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand IMC better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with IMC (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But note: IMC may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.