Taiwan Land Development's(TPE:2841) Share Price Is Down 33% Over The Past Three Years.

For many investors, the main point of stock picking is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But the risk of stock picking is that you will likely buy under-performing companies. We regret to report that long term Taiwan Land Development Corporation (TPE:2841) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 33% in three years, versus a market return of about 34%. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 23% in the last year.

See our latest analysis for Taiwan Land Development

While Taiwan Land Development made a small profit, in the last year, we think that the market is probably more focussed on the top line growth at the moment. As a general rule, we think this kind of company is more comparable to loss-making stocks, since the actual profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

In the last three years Taiwan Land Development saw its revenue shrink by 24% per year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. On the face of it we'd posit the share price fall of 10% compound, over three years is well justified by the fundamental deterioration. The key question now is whether the company has the capacity to fund itself to profitability, without more cash. The company will need to return to revenue growth as quickly as possible, if it wants to see some enthusiasm from investors.

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

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.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Taiwan Land Development's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Taiwan Land Development's TSR of was a loss of 33% for the 3 years. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

Taiwan Land Development shareholders are down 23% for the year, but the market itself is up 19%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 4.7% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Taiwan Land Development better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Taiwan Land Development (of which 2 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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