Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) shareholders are up 7.6% this past week, but still in the red over the last five years

Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ:LILA) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 11% in the last month. But don't envy holders -- looking back over 5 years the returns have been really bad. Indeed, the share price is down 56% in the period. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. Of course, this could be the start of a turnaround.

Although the past week has been more reassuring for shareholders, they're still in the red over the last five years, so let's see if the underlying business has been responsible for the decline.

See our latest analysis for Liberty Latin America

SWOT Analysis for Liberty Latin America

Liberty Latin America isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last half decade, Liberty Latin America saw its revenue increase by 7.2% 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 9% over the period. That suggests the market is disappointed with the current growth rate. A pessimistic market can create opportunities.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 6.7% in the twelve months, Liberty Latin America shareholders did even worse, losing 19%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 9% 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. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Liberty Latin America by clicking this link.

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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.