Many investors define successful investing as beating the market average over the long term. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer term Wan Kei Group Holdings Limited (HKG:1718) shareholders, since the share price is down 17% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 10.0%.

View our latest analysis for Wan Kei Group Holdings

Wan Kei Group Holdings wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, 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. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Over the last three years, Wan Kei Group Holdings's revenue dropped 8.7% per year. That's not what investors generally want to see. The stock has disappointed holders over the last three years, falling 6.1%, annualized. And with no profits, and weak revenue, are you surprised? Of course, sentiment could become too negative, and the company may actually be making progress to profitability.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Wan Kei Group Holdings stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, Wan Kei Group Holdings shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 1.6% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around -8.5%. The one-year return is also not as bad as the 6.1% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last three years. It could well be that the business has begun to stabilize, though the recent returns are hardly impressive. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Wan Kei Group Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Wan Kei Group Holdings (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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

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.

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. Thank you for reading.