The 11% return this week takes Yext's (NYSE:YEXT) shareholders one-year gains to 39%

These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. To wit, the Yext, Inc. (NYSE:YEXT) share price is 39% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market decline of around 14% (not including dividends) in the same period. So that should have shareholders smiling. On the other hand, longer term shareholders have had a tougher run, with the stock falling 12% in three years.

Since the stock has added US$117m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Yext

Given that Yext 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over the last twelve months, Yext's revenue grew by 2.6%. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. The modest growth is probably largely reflected in the share price, which is up 39%. While not a huge gain tht seems pretty reasonable. It could be worth keeping an eye on this one, especially if growth accelerates.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Yext shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 39% over the last year. That certainly beats the loss of about 5% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Yext better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Yext that you should be aware of.

Of course Yext 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.