If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you'd hope to be making a profit. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. Unfortunately for shareholders, while the SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWTX) share price is up 55% in the last five years, that's less than the market return. Zooming in, the stock is up just 2.1% in the last year.

In light of the stock dropping 4.9% in the past week, we want to investigate the longer term story, and see if fundamentals have been the driver of the company's positive five-year return.

View our latest analysis for SpringWorks Therapeutics

Given that SpringWorks Therapeutics 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. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. 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.

In the last 5 years SpringWorks Therapeutics saw its revenue grow at 64% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. While long-term shareholders have made money, the 9% per year gain over five years fall short of the market return. That's surprising given the strong revenue growth. Arguably this falls in a potential sweet spot - modest share price gains but good top line growth over the long term justifies investigation, in our book.

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

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

A Different Perspective

SpringWorks Therapeutics shareholders are up 2.1% for the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 9% per year for five years. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand SpringWorks Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for SpringWorks Therapeutics you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.