The past five years for Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) investors has not been profitable

We think intelligent long term investing is the way to go. But unfortunately, some companies simply don't succeed. For example, after five long years the Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB) share price is a whole 70% lower. That's not a lot of fun for true believers. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 67% over the last twelve months. Furthermore, it's down 43% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

Check out our latest analysis for Mesoblast

Because Mesoblast made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good 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 five years Mesoblast saw its revenue shrink by 4.7% per year. That's not what investors generally want to see. If a business loses money, you want it to grow, so no surprises that the share price has dropped 11% each year in that time. It takes a certain kind of mental fortitude (or recklessness) to buy shares in a company that loses money and doesn't grow revenue. Fear of becoming a 'bagholder' may be keeping people away from this stock.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Mesoblast stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Mesoblast shareholders are down 67% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 3.6%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 11% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Mesoblast better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Mesoblast is showing 2 warning signs 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 AU 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.