The main aim of stock picking is to find the market-beating stocks. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. So we wouldn't blame long term KORU Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRMD) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 25% over a half decade.

Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.

View our latest analysis for KORU Medical Systems

KORU Medical Systems 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope 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.

In the last half decade, KORU Medical Systems saw its revenue increase by 6.7% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. Shareholders have seen the share price fall at 5% per year, for five years: a poor performance. Clearly, the expectations from back then have not been satisfied. The lesson is that if you buy shares in a money losing company you could end up losing money.

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 KORU Medical Systems' balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 36% in the last year, KORU Medical Systems shareholders lost 1.1%. 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 KORU Medical Systems better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with KORU Medical Systems , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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.