Marchex (NASDAQ:MCHX) investors are sitting on a loss of 30% if they invested five years ago
While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Marchex, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHX) share price up 11% in a single quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. In fact, the share price is down 30%, which falls well short of the return you could get by buying an index fund.
Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.
See our latest analysis for Marchex
Because Marchex 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. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.
Over half a decade Marchex reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 13% for each year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. On the face of it we'd posit the share price fall of 5% compound, over five years is well justified by the fundamental deterioration. This loss means the stock shareholders are probably pretty annoyed. Risk averse investors probably wouldn't like this one much.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.
A Different Perspective
Investors in Marchex had a tough year, with a total loss of 5.3%, against a market gain of about 5.9%. 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. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 5% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Marchex better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Marchex (1 can't be ignored) that you should be aware of.
If you are like me, then you will 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.
