Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 28% in the last month. But the last three years have seen a terrible decline. The share price has sunk like a leaky ship, down 75% in that time. So we're relieved for long term holders to see a bit of uplift. Of course the real question is whether the business can sustain a turnaround.

After losing 9.8% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

See our latest analysis for Virgin Galactic Holdings

Because Virgin Galactic Holdings 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. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last three years, Virgin Galactic Holdings saw its revenue grow by 31% per year, compound. That is faster than most pre-profit companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price down 21% a year in the same time period. The share price makes us wonder if there is an issue with profitability. Sometimes fast revenue growth doesn't lead to profits. Unless the balance sheet is strong, the company might have to raise capital.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

Over the last year, Virgin Galactic Holdings shareholders took a loss of 39%. In contrast the market gained about 2.1%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. The three-year loss of 21% per year isn't as bad as the last twelve months, suggesting that the company has not been able to convince the market it has solved its problems. Although Baron Rothschild famously said to "buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own", he also focusses on high quality stocks with solid prospects. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Virgin Galactic Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Virgin Galactic Holdings is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But note: Virgin Galactic Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American 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.