Aquis Exchange (LON:AQX) shareholders have endured a 36% loss from investing in the stock a year ago

Aquis Exchange PLC (LON:AQX) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 13% in the last month. But that doesn't change the reality of under-performance over the last twelve months. In fact the stock is down 36% in the last year, well below the market return.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

View our latest analysis for Aquis Exchange

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the unfortunate twelve months during which the Aquis Exchange share price fell, it actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 336%. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped.

The divergence between the EPS and the share price is quite notable, during the year. So it's easy to justify a look at some other metrics.

Aquis Exchange's revenue is actually up 50% over the last year. Since the fundamental metrics don't readily explain the share price drop, there might be an opportunity if the market has overreacted.

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

It is of course excellent to see how Aquis Exchange has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at Aquis Exchange's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

The last twelve months weren't great for Aquis Exchange shares, which performed worse than the market, costing holders 36%. Meanwhile, the broader market slid about 5.6%, likely weighing on the stock. Shareholders have lost 3.1% per year over the last three years, so the share price drop has become steeper, over the last year; a potential symptom of as yet unsolved challenges. We would be wary of buying into a company with unsolved problems, although some investors will buy into struggling stocks if they believe the price is sufficiently attractive. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Aquis Exchange better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Aquis Exchange is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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 GB 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.

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