Taking the occasional loss comes part and parcel with investing on the stock market. And there's no doubt that Mister Car Wash, Inc. (NYSE:MCW) stock has had a really bad year. In that relatively short period, the share price has plunged 51%. Mister Car Wash may have better days ahead, of course; we've only looked at a one year period.

With the stock having lost 4.2% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

Check out our latest analysis for Mister Car Wash

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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.

Mister Car Wash managed to increase earnings per share from a loss to a profit, over the last 12 months.

When a company has just transitioned to profitability, earnings per share growth is not always the best way to look at the share price action. But we may find different metrics more enlightening.

Mister Car Wash's revenue is actually up 17% over the last year. Since we can't easily explain the share price movement based on these metrics, it might be worth considering how market sentiment has changed towards the stock.

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

Mister Car Wash is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

A Different Perspective

We doubt Mister Car Wash shareholders are happy with the loss of 51% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 22%. There's no doubt that's a disappointment, but the stock may well have fared better in a stronger market. Putting aside the last twelve months, it's good to see the share price has rebounded by 5.0%, in the last ninety days. This could just be a bounce because the selling was too aggressive, but fingers crossed it's the start of a new trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Mister Car Wash better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Mister Car Wash you should know about.

Of course Mister Car Wash 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 US 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.

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