Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BHF) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 13% in the last month. But the silver lining is the stock is up over five years. Unfortunately its return of 24% is below the market return of 97%. While the long term returns are impressive, we do have some sympathy for those who bought more recently, given the 19% drop, in the last year.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

Because Brighthouse Financial made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over the last half decade Brighthouse Financial's revenue has actually been trending down at about 12% per year. The falling revenue is arguably somewhat reflected in the lacklustre return of 4% per year over that time. Arguably that's not bad given the soft revenue and loss-making position. We'd keep an eye on changes in the trend - there may be an opportunity if the company returns to growth.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Brighthouse Financial stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Brighthouse Financial shareholders are down 19% for the year, but the market itself is up 27%. 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. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 4% per year over half a decade. 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. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Brighthouse Financial .

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.