The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For example, the China Shandong Hi-Speed Financial Group Limited (HKG:412) share price has soared 195% in the last three years. Most would be happy with that. The last week saw the share price soften some 3.4%.

While this past week has detracted from the company's three-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

See our latest analysis for China Shandong Hi-Speed Financial Group

Given that China Shandong Hi-Speed Financial Group 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 it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Over the last three years China Shandong Hi-Speed Financial Group has grown its revenue at 16% annually. That's pretty nice growth. Broadly speaking, this solid progress may well be reflected by the healthy share price gain of 43% per year over three years. The business has made good progress on the top line, but the market is extrapolating the growth. It would be worth thinking about when profits will flow, since that milestone will attract more attention.

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 China Shandong Hi-Speed Financial Group's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that China Shandong Hi-Speed Financial Group shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 83% over the last year. That's better than the annualised return of 20% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. 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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for China Shandong Hi-Speed Financial Group you should know about.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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