Passive investing in index funds can generate returns that roughly match the overall market. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. To wit, the Boku, Inc. (LON:BOKU) share price is 98% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 14% (not including dividends) in the same period. If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! And shareholders have also done well over the long term, with an increase of 40% in the last three years.

See our latest analysis for Boku

Boku 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. 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.

Boku grew its revenue by 12% last year. That's not great considering the company is losing money. In keeping with the revenue growth, the share price gained 98% in that time. While not a huge gain tht seems pretty reasonable. Given the market doesn't seem too excited about the stock, a closer look at the financial data could pay off, if you can find indications of a stronger growth trend in the future.

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

We're pleased to report that Boku rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 98% over the last year. So this year's TSR was actually better than the three-year TSR (annualized) of 12%. Given the track record of solid returns over varying time frames, it might be worth putting Boku on your watchlist. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - Boku has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Boku is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB exchanges.

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. 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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