Amplitude (NASDAQ:AMPL) shareholders are up 3.1% this past week, but still in the red over the last year
The art and science of stock market investing requires a tolerance for losing money on some of the shares you buy. But it should be a priority to avoid stomach churning catastrophes, wherever possible. It must have been painful to be a Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) shareholder over the last year, since the stock price plummeted 72% in that time. While some investors are willing to stomach this sort of loss, they are usually professionals who spread their bets thinly. We wouldn't rush to judgement on Amplitude because we don't have a long term history to look at.
While the last year has been tough for Amplitude shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.
See our latest analysis for Amplitude
Because Amplitude made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.
Amplitude grew its revenue by 60% over the last year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. So the hefty 72% share price crash makes us think the company has somehow offended market participants. Something weird is definitely impacting the stock price; we'd venture the company has destroyed value somehow. What is clear is that the market is not judging the company on its revenue growth right now. Of course, markets do over-react so share price drop may be too harsh.
The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts
A Different Perspective
We doubt Amplitude shareholders are happy with the loss of 72% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 22%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. Putting aside the last twelve months, it's good to see the share price has rebounded by 4.9%, in the last ninety days. This could just be a bounce because the selling was too aggressive, but fingers crossed it's the start of a new trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Amplitude better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Amplitude you should know about.
We will like Amplitude better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US 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.
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