CHF Solutions Inc's (NASDAQ:CHFS) Earnings Dropped -41.15%, Did Its Industry Show Weakness Too?

Investors with a long-term horizong may find it valuable to assess CHF Solutions Inc's (NASDAQ:CHFS) earnings trend over time and against its industry benchmark as opposed to simply looking at a sincle earnings announcement at one point in time. Below is my commentary, albiet very simple and high-level, on how CHF Solutions is currently performing. View our latest analysis for CHF Solutions

How Did CHFS's Recent Performance Stack Up Against Its Past?

I like to use data from the most recent 12 months, which annualizes the latest 6-month earnings release, or some times, the latest annual report is already the most recent financial data. This method enables me to examine many different companies on a more comparable basis, using the latest information. For CHF Solutions, its latest earnings (trailing twelve month) is -US$24.97M, which, relative to the previous year's figure, has become more negative. Since these values may be somewhat myopic, I’ve created an annualized five-year value for CHFS's earnings, which stands at -US$19.89M. This doesn't look much better, since earnings seem to have gradually been getting more and more negative over time.

We can further evaluate CHF Solutions's loss by looking at what the industry has been experiencing over the past few years. Each year, for the past half a decade CHF Solutions's top-line has grown by 52.36% on average, indicating that the company is in a high-growth phase with expenses racing ahead revenues, leading to annual losses. Scanning growth from a sector-level, the US medical equipment industry has been growing its average earnings by double-digit 10.69% in the prior twelve months, and 10.37% over the past five. This suggests that whatever tailwind the industry is deriving benefit from, CHF Solutions has not been able to reap as much as its average peer.

What does this mean?

Though CHF Solutions's past data is helpful, it is only one aspect of my investment thesis. Companies that incur net loss is always hard to predict what will occur going forward, and when. The most insightful step is to assess company-specific issues CHF Solutions may be facing and whether management guidance has dependably been met in the past. I suggest you continue to research CHF Solutions to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CHFS’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for CHFS’s outlook.
2. Financial Health: Is CHFS’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 December 2017. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.