Shareholders in Saudi Fisheries (TADAWUL:6050) have lost 78%, as stock drops 11% this past week

Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Anyone who held Saudi Fisheries Company (TADAWUL:6050) for five years would be nursing their metaphorical wounds since the share price dropped 78% in that time. And some of the more recent buyers are probably worried, too, with the stock falling 47% in the last year. More recently, the share price has dropped a further 21% in a month. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

With the stock having lost 11% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

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Saudi Fisheries 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. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. 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.

Over half a decade Saudi Fisheries reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 17% for each year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. So it's not altogether surprising to see the share price down 12% per year in the same time period. We don't think this is a particularly promising picture. Of course, the poor performance could mean the market has been too severe selling down. That can happen.

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

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 7.0% in the twelve months, Saudi Fisheries shareholders did even worse, losing 47%. 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. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 12% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Even so, be aware that Saudi Fisheries is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

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