Even after rising 13% this past week, Intellicheck (NASDAQ:IDN) shareholders are still down 56% over the past five years

It's nice to see the Intellicheck, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDN) share price up 13% in a week. But that is little comfort to those holding over the last half decade, sitting on a big loss. In that time the share price has delivered a rude shock to holders, who find themselves down 56% after a long stretch. So is the recent increase sufficient to restore confidence in the stock? Not yet. However, in the best case scenario (far from fait accompli), this improved performance might be sustained.

On a more encouraging note the company has added US$5.9m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the five-year loss for shareholders.

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Given that Intellicheck 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. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last half decade, Intellicheck saw its revenue increase by 16% per year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. In contrast, the share price is has averaged a loss of 9% per year - that's quite disappointing. This could mean high expectations have been tempered, potentially because investors are looking to the bottom line. Given the revenue growth we'd consider the stock to be quite an interesting prospect if the company has a clear path to profitability.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Take a more thorough look at Intellicheck's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Intellicheck shareholders are down 19% for the year, but the market itself is up 9.0%. 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 9% 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. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Intellicheck you should be aware of.

Of course Intellicheck 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.