Shareholders in Access Intelligence (LON:ACC) are in the red if they invested a year ago

It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. Investors in Access Intelligence Plc (LON:ACC) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 38%. That's well below the market return of 6.2%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 28% in three years. Furthermore, it's down 15% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

See our latest analysis for Access Intelligence

Access Intelligence 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. 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 twelve months, Access Intelligence increased its revenue by 17%. We think that is pretty nice growth. Meanwhile, the share price is down 38% over twelve months, which is disappointing given the progress made. This implies the market was expecting better growth. However, that's in the past now, and it's the future that matters most.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

This free interactive report on Access Intelligence's 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 6.2% in the last year, Access Intelligence shareholders lost 38%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 0.7% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Access Intelligence .

But note: Access Intelligence 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 British 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.