Further weakness as Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) drops 8.7% this week, taking three-year losses to 61%

Investing in stocks inevitably means buying into some companies that perform poorly. But the long term shareholders of Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ:CLNE) have had an unfortunate run in the last three years. Unfortunately, they have held through a 61% decline in the share price in that time. And the ride hasn't got any smoother in recent times over the last year, with the price 33% lower in that time. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 17% in the last three months.

With the stock having lost 8.7% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

See our latest analysis for Clean Energy Fuels

Given that Clean Energy Fuels 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 hope to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Over three years, Clean Energy Fuels grew revenue at 15% per year. That's a pretty good rate of top-line growth. So some shareholders would be frustrated with the compound loss of 17% per year. The market must have had really high expectations to be disappointed with this progress. It would be well worth taking a closer look at the company, to determine growth trends (and balance sheet strength).

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Take a more thorough look at Clean Energy Fuels' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Clean Energy Fuels had a tough year, with a total loss of 33%, against a market gain of about 24%. 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. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 2% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of undervalued small caps 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 American 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.