In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But in any portfolio, there will be mixed results between individual stocks. So we wouldn't blame long term Alithya Group Inc. (TSE:ALYA) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 50% over a half decade.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Alithya Group

Given that Alithya Group didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.

Over five years, Alithya Group grew its revenue at 17% per year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. Shareholders are no doubt disappointed with the loss of 8%, each year, in that time. So you might argue the Alithya Group should get more credit for its rather impressive revenue growth over the period. If that's the case, now might be the smart time to take a close look at it.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. If you are thinking of buying or selling Alithya Group stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Alithya Group had a tough year, with a total loss of 11%, against a market gain of about 32%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 8% 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. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid.