BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS investor five-year losses grow to 39% as the stock sheds US$59m this past week

In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers So we wouldn't blame long term BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 39% over a half decade.

After losing 4.8% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

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Given that BioLife Solutions 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope 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.

Over five years, BioLife Solutions grew its revenue at 1.4% per year. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. Given the weak growth, the share price fall of 7% isn't particularly surprising. The key question is whether the company can make it to profitability, and beyond, without trouble. Shareholders will want the company to approach profitability if it can't grow revenue any faster.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

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

A Different Perspective

Investors in BioLife Solutions had a tough year, with a total loss of 6.9%, against a market gain of about 18%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 7% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand BioLife Solutions better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with BioLife Solutions , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But note: BioLife Solutions 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 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.