The one-year earnings decline has likely contributed toscPharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:SCPH) shareholders losses of 33% over that period

It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. Investors in scPharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SCPH) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 33%. That's well below the market return of 34%. Looking at the longer term, the stock is down 28% over three years. It's down 35% in about a quarter. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

After losing 22% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

Check out our latest analysis for scPharmaceuticals

scPharmaceuticals 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. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last year scPharmaceuticals saw its revenue grow by 304%. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. The share price drop of 33% over twelve months would be considered disappointing by many, so you might argue the company is getting little credit for its impressive revenue growth. Prima facie, revenue growth like that should be a good thing, so it's worth checking whether losses have stabilized.

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

Investors in scPharmaceuticals had a tough year, with a total loss of 33%, against a market gain of about 34%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 5% 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 scPharmaceuticals better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for scPharmaceuticals you should know about.

Of course scPharmaceuticals may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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.