It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. Unfortunately the Jianpu Technology Inc. (NYSE:JT) share price slid 18% over twelve months. That falls noticeably short of the market return of around 3.8%. Jianpu Technology hasn't been listed for long, so although we're wary of recent listings that perform poorly, it may still prove itself with time. The share price has dropped 27% in three months.

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See our latest analysis for Jianpu Technology

Because Jianpu Technology is loss-making, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. 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 year Jianpu Technology saw its revenue grow by 39%. That's definitely a respectable growth rate. Meanwhile, the share price is down 18% over twelve months, which is disappointing given the progress made. You might even wonder if the share price was previously over-hyped. However, that's in the past now, and it's the future that matters most.

The graphic below shows how revenue and earnings have changed as management guided the business forward. If you want to see cashflow, you can click on the chart.

This free interactive report on Jianpu Technology's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Given that the market gained 3.8% in the last year, Jianpu Technology shareholders might be miffed that they lost 18%. While the aim is to do better than that, it's worth recalling that even great long-term investments sometimes underperform for a year or more. It's worth noting that the last three months did the real damage, with a 27% decline. So it seems like some holders have been dumping the stock of late - and that's not bullish. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.