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International Workplace Group plc (LON:IWG) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 11% in the last quarter. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. In fact, the share price is down 25% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return.
The recent uptick of 3.5% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.
While International Workplace Group made a small profit, in the last year, we think that the market is probably more focussed on the top line growth at the moment. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.
Over three years, International Workplace Group grew revenue at 8.5% per year. That's a pretty good rate of top-line growth. Shareholders have endured a share price decline of 8% per year. This implies the market had higher expectations of International Workplace Group. With revenue growing at a solid clip, now might be the time to focus on the possibility that it will have a brighter future.
You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover 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. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think International Workplace Group will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).
A Different Perspective
While the broader market gained around 6.2% in the last year, International Workplace Group shareholders lost 1.6% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 4% doled out over the last five years. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for International Workplace Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.