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Measuring Forward Industries Inc’s (NASDAQ:FORD) track record of past performance is a valuable exercise for investors. It allows us to understand whether or not the company has met or exceed expectations, which is an insightful signal for future performance. Today I will assess FORD’s recent performance announced on 31 December 2017 and compare these figures to its historical trend and industry movements. Check out our latest analysis for Forward Industries
Commentary On FORD’s Past Performance
To account for any quarterly or half-yearly updates, I use the ‘latest twelve-month’ data, which annualizes the latest 6-month earnings release, or some times, the latest annual report is already the most recent financial data. This technique allows me to analyze various companies on a similar basis, using the latest information. For Forward Industries, its most recent earnings (trailing twelve month) is US$474.51K, which compared to last year’s figure, has fallen by -7.68%. Since these figures are relatively myopic, I have created an annualized five-year figure for Forward Industries’s earnings, which stands at -US$1.17M This shows that even though earnings growth was negative from last year, in the long run, Forward Industries’s earnings have been growing on average.
What’s the driver of this growth? Let’s see whether it is solely because of industry tailwinds, or if Forward Industries has experienced some company-specific growth. Over the past couple of years, Forward Industries increased its bottom line faster than revenue by efficiently controlling its costs. This has caused a margin expansion and profitability over time. Inspecting growth from a sector-level, the US luxury industry has been growing, albeit, at a subdued single-digit rate of 7.75% in the previous year, and 5.36% over the previous five years. This suggests that any tailwind the industry is profiting from, Forward Industries has not been able to leverage it as much as its industry peers.
What does this mean?
Forward Industries’s track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. Companies that are profitable, but have unpredictable earnings, can have many factors impacting its business. I suggest you continue to research Forward Industries to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
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Financial Health: Is FORD’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
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Valuation: What is FORD worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether FORD is currently mispriced by the market.
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Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 December 2017. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.