Investors can earn very close to the average market return by buying an index fund. In contrast individual stocks will provide a wide range of possible returns, and may fall short. For example, the XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & Steel Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600581) share price fell 24% in the last year, slightly below the market decline of around 21%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 7.9% in three years. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 18% in the last 90 days. However, one could argue that the price has been influenced by the general market, which is down 9.2% in the same timeframe.

After losing 9.2% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

Check out our latest analysis for XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd

Given that XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In just one year XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd saw its revenue fall by 21%. That looks pretty grim, at a glance. Shareholders have seen the share price drop 24% in that time. That seems pretty reasonable given the lack of both profits and revenue growth. It's hard to escape the conclusion that buyers must envision either growth down the track, cost cutting, or both.

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

This free interactive report on XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 21% in the twelve months, XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd shareholders did even worse, losing 24%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 3% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course XinJiang Ba Yi Iron & SteelLtd may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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