CDW Holding Limited (SGX:BXE) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 11% in the last month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. You would have done a lot better buying an index fund, since the stock has dropped 47% in that half decade.

Check out our latest analysis for CDW Holding

CDW Holding isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last five years CDW Holding saw its revenue shrink by 11% per year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. It seems pretty reasonable to us that the share price dipped 12% per year in that time. This loss means the stock shareholders are probably pretty annoyed. It is possible for businesses to bounce back but as Buffett says, 'turnarounds seldom turn'.

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

This free interactive report on CDW Holding's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, CDW Holding's TSR for the last 5 years was -23%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that CDW Holding shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 14% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 5.2% per year over the last half decade. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that CDW Holding is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...