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Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But that doesn't mean long term investors can avoid big losses. Zooming in on an example, the Air New Zealand Limited (NZSE:AIR) share price dropped 75% in the last half decade. That's an unpleasant experience for long term holders. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 52% 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.
In the last five years Air New Zealand saw its revenue shrink by 16% per year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. So it's not that strange that the share price dropped 12% per year in that period. We don't think this is a particularly promising picture. Of course, the poor performance could mean the market has been too severe selling down. That can happen.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Air New Zealand
What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?
Investors should note that there's a difference between Air New Zealand's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Its history of dividend payouts mean that Air New Zealand's TSR, which was a 52% drop over the last 5 years, was not as bad as the share price return.
A Different Perspective
We regret to report that Air New Zealand shareholders are down 21% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 12%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 9% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Air New Zealand that you should be aware of.