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Investing in J.W. Mays (NASDAQ:MAYS) a year ago would have delivered you a 40% gain

If you want to compound wealth in the stock market, you can do so by buying an index fund. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. To wit, the J.W. Mays, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAYS) share price is 40% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 3.3% (not including dividends) in the same period. That's a solid performance by our standards! The longer term returns have not been as good, with the stock price only 0.6% higher than it was three years ago.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

See our latest analysis for J.W. Mays

While J.W. Mays 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 the last twelve months, J.W. Mays' revenue grew by 5.8%. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. In keeping with the revenue growth, the share price gained 40% in that time. That's not a standout result, but it is solid - much like the level of revenue growth. It could be worth keeping an eye on this one, especially if growth accelerates.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that J.W. Mays has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 40% in the last twelve months. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 1.5% per year over five years. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the 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. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with J.W. Mays (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

We will like J.W. Mays 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.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.