The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But if you buy shares in a really great company, you can more than double your money. To wit, the Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU) share price has flown 228% in the last three years. How nice for those who held the stock! It's also good to see the share price up 25% over the last quarter.

See our latest analysis for Glu Mobile

While Glu Mobile made a small profit, in the last year, we think that the market is probably more focussed on the top line growth at the moment. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. It would be hard to believe in a more profitable future without growing revenues.

Glu Mobile's revenue trended up 24% each year over three years. That's much better than most loss-making companies. Along the way, the share price gained 49% per year, a solid pop by our standards. But it does seem like the market is paying attention to strong revenue growth. Nonetheless, we'd say Glu Mobile is still worth investigating - successful businesses can often keep growing for long periods.

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

We know that Glu Mobile has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling Glu Mobile stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 14% in the last year, Glu Mobile shareholders lost 17%. 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 10%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. If you would like to research Glu Mobile in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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.