When you buy a stock there is always a possibility that it could drop 100%. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. For instance, the price of Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) stock is up an impressive 124% over the last five years. On top of that, the share price is up 28% in about a quarter. This could be related to the recent financial results, released recently - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

Spotify Technology wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last 5 years Spotify Technology saw its revenue grow at 17% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. Meanwhile, its share price performance certainly reflects the strong growth, given the share price grew at 17% per year, compound, during the period. So it seems likely that buyers have paid attention to the strong revenue growth. Spotify Technology seems like a high growth stock - so growth investors might want to add it to their watchlist.

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

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. You can see what analysts are predicting for Spotify Technology in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Spotify Technology shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 105% over one year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 17% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that Spotify Technology is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.