For many, the main point of investing is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers So we wouldn't blame long term TRX Gold Corporation (TSE:TRX) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 49% over a half decade. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 18% in the last three months.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for TRX Gold

Because TRX Gold made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last half decade, TRX Gold saw its revenue increase by 73% per year. That's better than most loss-making companies. The share price drop of 8% per year over five years would be considered let down. So you might argue the TRX Gold should get more credit for its rather impressive revenue growth over the period. So now is probably an apt time to look closer at the stock, if you think it has potential.

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

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. You can see what analysts are predicting for TRX Gold in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

TRX Gold shareholders are down 1.8% for the year, but the market itself is up 19%. 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'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. 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.

TRX Gold is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying.