Every investor on earth makes bad calls sometimes. But you have a problem if you face massive losses more than once in a while. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ); the share price is down a whopping 75% in the last three years. That might cause some serious doubts about the merits of the initial decision to buy the stock, to put it mildly.

After losing 4.4% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

View our latest analysis for Block

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Block became profitable within the last five years. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So given the share price is down it's worth checking some other metrics too.

We note that, in three years, revenue has actually grown at a 13% annual rate, so that doesn't seem to be a reason to sell shares. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Block more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

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

Block is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

A Different Perspective

Block shareholders are up 13% for the year. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 0.6% over half a decade This suggests the company might be improving over time. 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. Take risks, for example - Block has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course Block may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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