Those Who Purchased Ascena Retail Group (NASDAQ:ASNA) Shares Five Years Ago Have A 89% Loss To Show For It

Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. Imagine if you held Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASNA) for half a decade as the share price tanked 89%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 37% in the last 90 days.

We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.

Check out our latest analysis for Ascena Retail Group

Given that Ascena Retail Group 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. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last half decade, Ascena Retail Group saw its revenue increase by 8.7% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. So it is unexpected to see the stock down 36% per year in the last five years. The market can be a harsh master when your company is losing money and revenue growth disappoints.

The graphic below shows how revenue and earnings have changed as management guided the business forward. If you want to see cashflow, you can click on the chart.

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this freeinteractive graphic.

A Different Perspective

Ascena Retail Group shareholders are down 11% for the year, but the market itself is up 0.9%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 36% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But note: Ascena Retail Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this freelist of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.