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The last three months have been tough on Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) shareholders, who have seen the share price decline a rather worrying 36%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been very strong. We think most investors would be happy with the 128% return, over that period. To some, the recent pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a fast rise. The more important question is whether the stock is too cheap or too expensive today.
On the back of a solid 7-day performance, let's check what role the company's fundamentals have played in driving long term shareholder returns.
Because Marvell Technology 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.
For the last half decade, Marvell Technology can boast revenue growth at a rate of 16% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. So it's not entirely surprising that the share price reflected this performance by increasing at a rate of 18% per year, in that time. So it seems likely that buyers have paid attention to the strong revenue growth. Marvell Technology seems like a high growth stock - so growth investors might want to add it to their watchlist.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Marvell Technology
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Marvell Technology's TSR for the last 5 years was 133%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.