Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Anyone who held Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments Limited (HKG:1082) for five years would be nursing their metaphorical wounds since the share price dropped 86% in that time. Furthermore, it's down 25% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

Check out our latest analysis for Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments

Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments isn't a profitable company, so 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over half a decade Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 9.2% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. So it's not that strange that the share price dropped 33% per year in that period. We don't think this is a particularly promising picture. Of course, the poor performance could mean the market has been too severe selling down. That can happen.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of -83% exceeds its share price return of -86%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 57% over one year. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 30% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

We will like Hong Kong Education (Int'l) Investments 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 HK 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.