It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. Unfortunately the TCL Technology Group Corporation (SZSE:000100) share price slid 45% over twelve months. That falls noticeably short of the market decline of around 17%. The silver lining (for longer term investors) is that the stock is still 2.5% higher than it was three years ago. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 24% in the last 90 days. But this could be related to the weak market, which is down 12% in the same period.

After losing 5.4% 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 TCL Technology Group

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Unhappily, TCL Technology Group had to report a 61% decline in EPS over the last year. The share price fall of 45% isn't as bad as the reduction in earnings per share. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment -- or it may have expected earnings to drop faster.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on TCL Technology Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that TCL Technology Group shareholders are down 43% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 17%. 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 3%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand TCL Technology Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for TCL Technology Group you should know about.

We will like TCL Technology Group better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.