Such Is Life: How Carbonite (NASDAQ:CARB) Shareholders Saw Their Shares Drop 59%
Even the best stock pickers will make plenty of bad investments. And there's no doubt that Carbonite, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARB) stock has had a really bad year. The share price is down a hefty 59% in that time. On the other hand, the stock is actually up 18% over three years. Furthermore, it's down 38% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.
View our latest analysis for Carbonite
Carbonite isn't a profitable company, so it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.
Carbonite grew its revenue by 35% over the last year. We think that is pretty nice growth. Unfortunately it seems investors wanted more, because the share price is down 59% in that time. It may well be that the business remains approximately on track, but its revenue growth has simply been delayed. To our minds it isn't enough to just look at revenue, anyway. Always consider when profits will flow.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized 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 it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Carbonite will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).
A Different Perspective
Investors in Carbonite had a tough year, with a total loss of 59%, against a market gain of about 3.5%. 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 7.7%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
We will like Carbonite 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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
