Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT shareholders incur further losses as stock declines 4.0% this week, taking five-year losses to 70%

While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) share price has gained 22% in the last three months. But that can't change the reality that over the longer term (five years), the returns have been really quite dismal. In fact, the share price has declined rather badly, down some 70% in that time. So we're hesitant to put much weight behind the short term increase. But it could be that the fall was overdone.

With the stock having lost 4.0% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

View our latest analysis for Viasat

Viasat isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over five years, Viasat grew its revenue at 7.1% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. The share price return isn't so respectable with an annual loss of 11% over the period. It seems probably that the business has failed to live up to initial expectations. That could lead to an opportunity if the company is going to become profitable sooner rather than later.

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

If you are thinking of buying or selling Viasat stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 19% in the last year, Viasat shareholders lost 39%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 11% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Viasat better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Viasat is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

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

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.