These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. For example, the Shanghai Amarsoft Information & Technology Co.,Ltd (SZSE:300380) share price is up 57% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market decline of around 9.5% (not including dividends). If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! However, the longer term returns haven't been so impressive, with the stock up just 20% in the last three years.

Since the stock has added CN¥391m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Amarsoft Information & TechnologyLtd

Shanghai Amarsoft Information & TechnologyLtd 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good 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.

Shanghai Amarsoft Information & TechnologyLtd actually shrunk its revenue over the last year, with a reduction of 12%. Despite the lack of revenue growth, the stock has returned a solid 57% the last twelve months. To us that means that there isn't a lot of correlation between the past revenue performance and the share price, but a closer look at analyst forecasts and the bottom line may well explain a lot.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Shanghai Amarsoft Information & TechnologyLtd has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 57% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 10% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. 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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Shanghai Amarsoft Information & TechnologyLtd that you should be aware of before investing here.

But note: Shanghai Amarsoft Information & TechnologyLtd may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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