EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP) shareholders will doubtless be very grateful to see the share price up 40% in the last quarter. But over the last half decade, the stock has not performed well. In fact, the share price is down 12%, which falls well short of the return you could get by buying an index fund.

See our latest analysis for EDAP TMS

EDAP TMS isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong 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, EDAP TMS saw its revenue increase by 9.0% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. We doubt many shareholders are ok with the fact the share price has fallen 2.3% each year for half a decade. Those who bought back then clearly believed in stronger growth - and maybe even profits. There is always a big risk of losing money yourself when you buy shares in a company that loses money.

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

Take a more thorough look at EDAP TMS' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

EDAP TMS shareholders are up 2.3% for the year. But that return falls short of the market. But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 2.3% per year, over five years. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. 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 2 warning signs we've spotted with EDAP TMS .

We will like EDAP TMS better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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

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. 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.

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If You Had Bought EDAP TMS' (NASDAQ:EDAP) Shares Five Years Ago You Would Be Down 12% - Yahoo Finance