The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But on the bright side, you can make far more than 100% on a really good stock. One great example is Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:KFS) which saw its share price drive 277% higher over five years. The last week saw the share price soften some 2.8%.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

View our latest analysis for Kingsway Financial Services

Because Kingsway Financial Services 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

For the last half decade, Kingsway Financial Services can boast revenue growth at a rate of 12% per year. That's a pretty good long term growth rate. We'd argue this growth has been reflected in the share price which has climbed at a rate of 30% per year over in that time. Given that the business has made good progress on the top line, it would be worth taking a look at the growth trend. When a growth trend accelerates, be it in revenue or earnings, it can indicate an inflection point for the business, which is can often be an opportunity for investors.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Kingsway Financial Services' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Kingsway Financial Services shareholders are down 10% for the year, but the market itself is up 9.7%. 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. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 30% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Before spending more time on Kingsway Financial Services it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

But note: Kingsway Financial Services may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.