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Easy Come, Easy Go: How Express (NYSE:EXPR) Shareholders Got Unlucky And Saw 80% Of Their Cash Evaporate

As every investor would know, not every swing hits the sweet spot. But you want to avoid the really big losses like the plague. So take a moment to sympathize with the long term shareholders of Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR), who have seen the share price tank a massive 80% over a three year period. That would be a disturbing experience. The more recent news is of little comfort, with the share price down 51% in a year. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 29% in the last three months.

We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.

View our latest analysis for Express

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While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the three years that the share price fell, Express's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 54% each year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 42% compound annual share price fall. This suggests that the market retains some optimism around long term earnings stability, despite past EPS declines.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

NYSE:EXPR Past and Future Earnings, April 23rd 2019
NYSE:EXPR Past and Future Earnings, April 23rd 2019

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 9.9% in the last year, Express shareholders lost 51%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 24% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. Before spending more time on Express it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

But note: Express 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 US exchanges.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.