Swelling losses haven't held back gains for Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) shareholders since they're up 883% over 5 years

We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. Don't believe it? Then look at the Impinj, Inc. (NASDAQ:PI) share price. It's 883% higher than it was five years ago. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 18% gain in the last three months. Anyone who held for that rewarding ride would probably be keen to talk about it.

While the stock has fallen 3.5% this week, it's worth focusing on the longer term and seeing if the stocks historical returns have been driven by the underlying fundamentals.

See our latest analysis for Impinj

Impinj 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

For the last half decade, Impinj can boast revenue growth at a rate of 14% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. However, the share price gain of 58% during the period is considerably stronger. It might not be cheap but a (long-term) growth stock like this is usually well worth taking a closer look at.

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

It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Impinj

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Impinj shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 97% over one year. That's better than the annualised return of 58% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Impinj that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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.