It is doubtless a positive to see that the Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ:CAN) share price has gained some 101% in the last three months. But don't envy holders -- looking back over 5 years the returns have been really bad. In fact, the share price has declined rather badly, down some 65% in that time. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. But it could be that the fall was overdone.

Since Canaan has shed US$58m from its value in the past 7 days, let's see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business' economics.

Canaan isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last half decade, Canaan saw its revenue increase by 8.9% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. The share price, meanwhile, has fallen 11% compounded, over five years. That suggests the market is disappointed with the current growth rate. A pessimistic market can create opportunities.

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

Take a more thorough look at Canaan's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 25% in the last year, Canaan shareholders lost 5.1%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 11% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - Canaan has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course Canaan 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 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.