It is a pleasure to report that the Franklin Wireless Corp. (NASDAQ:FKWL) is up 45% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been disappointing. Tragically, the share price declined 53% in that time. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. While many would remain nervous, there could be further gains if the business can put its best foot forward.

It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.

View our latest analysis for Franklin Wireless

Franklin Wireless isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last three years Franklin Wireless saw its revenue shrink by 63% per year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. With no profits and falling revenue it is no surprise that investors have been dumping the stock, pushing the price down by 15% per year over that time. Bagholders or 'baggies' are people who buy more of a stock as the price collapses. They are then left 'holding the bag' if the shares turn out to be worthless. After losing money on a declining business with falling stock price, we always consider whether eager bagholders are still offering us a reasonable exit price.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Franklin Wireless shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 24% over the last year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 9% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. 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 2 warning signs for Franklin Wireless (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of.