The 19% return this week takes Kopin's (NASDAQ:KOPN) shareholders one-year gains to 174%

Unfortunately, investing is risky - companies can and do go bankrupt. But if you pick the right stock, you can make a lot more than 100%. Take, for example Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ:KOPN). Its share price is already up an impressive 174% in the last twelve months. It's also good to see the share price up 62% over the last quarter. Looking back further, the stock price is 106% higher than it was three years ago.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

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Given that Kopin 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 desire strong revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

In the last year Kopin saw its revenue grow by 13%. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. So we wouldn't have expected the share price to rise by 174%. The business will need a lot more growth to justify that increase. It's quite likely that the market is considering other factors, not just revenue growth.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Kopin shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 174% over the last year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 13% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Kopin (1 is a bit unpleasant) that you should be aware of.

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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.