One simple way to benefit from the stock market is to buy an index fund. But if you choose individual stocks with prowess, you can make superior returns. Just take a look at HUTCHMED (China) Limited (LON:HCM), which is up 12%, over three years, soundly beating the market return of 7.0% (not including dividends).

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

See our latest analysis for HUTCHMED (China)

HUTCHMED (China) isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. 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.

Over the last three years HUTCHMED (China) has grown its revenue at 34% annually. That's well above most pre-profit companies. The share price rise of 4% per year throughout that time is nice to see, and given the revenue growth, that gain seems somewhat justified. So now might be the perfect time to put HUTCHMED (China) on your radar. A window of opportunity may reveal itself with time, if the business can trend to profitability.

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

HUTCHMED (China) is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think HUTCHMED (China) will earn in the future (free analyst consensus estimates)

A Different Perspective

HUTCHMED (China) shareholders are up 10.0% for the year. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it is certainly better than the yearly loss of about 1.6% endured over half a decade. It could well be that the business is stabilizing. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand HUTCHMED (China) better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for HUTCHMED (China) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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