If You Had Bought RCM Technologies (NASDAQ:RCMT) Stock Five Years Ago, You'd Be Sitting On A 55% Loss, Today

The main aim of stock picking is to find the market-beating stocks. But in any portfolio, there will be mixed results between individual stocks. So we wouldn't blame long term RCM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCMT) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 55% over a half decade. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 27% over the last twelve months. And the share price decline continued over the last week, dropping some 5.6%.

View our latest analysis for RCM Technologies

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

While the share price declined over five years, RCM Technologies actually managed to increase EPS by an average of 0.2% per year. Given the share price reaction, one might suspect that EPS is not a good guide to the business performance during the period (perhaps due to a one-off loss or gain). Or possibly, the market was previously very optimistic, so the stock has disappointed, despite improving EPS.

By glancing at these numbers, we'd posit that the the market had expectations of much higher growth, five years ago. Looking to other metrics might better explain the share price change.

Revenue is actually up 1.1% over the time period. So it seems one might have to take closer look at the fundamentals to understand why the share price languishes. After all, there may be an opportunity.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We know that RCM Technologies has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think RCM Technologies will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered RCM Technologies's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. We note that RCM Technologies's TSR, at -37% is higher than its share price return of -55%. When you consider it hasn't been paying a dividend, this data suggests shareholders have benefitted from a spin-off, or had the opportunity to acquire attractively priced shares in a discounted capital raising.

A Different Perspective

Investors in RCM Technologies had a tough year, with a total loss of 27%, against a market gain of about 26%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 8.8% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. 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 3 warning signs for RCM Technologies you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

We will like RCM Technologies better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

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