Long term investing can be life changing when you buy and hold the truly great businesses. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. Don't believe it? Then look at the CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) share price. It's 582% higher than it was five years ago. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. It's also good to see the share price up 12% over the last quarter. It really delights us to see such great share price performance for investors.

In light of the stock dropping 10.0% 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 CrowdStrike Holdings

While CrowdStrike Holdings made a small profit, in the last year, we think that the market is probably more focussed on the top line growth at the moment. As a general rule, we think this kind of company is more comparable to loss-making stocks, since the actual profit is so low. It would be hard to believe in a more profitable future without growing revenues.

In the last 5 years CrowdStrike Holdings saw its revenue grow at 38% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. Arguably, this is well and truly reflected in the strong share price gain of 47%(per year) over the same period. It's never too late to start following a top notch stock like CrowdStrike Holdings, since some long term winners go on winning for decades. So we'd recommend you take a closer look at this one, but keep in mind the market seems optimistic.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

CrowdStrike Holdings 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

It's good to see that CrowdStrike Holdings has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 31% in the last twelve months. However, the TSR over five years, coming in at 47% per year, is even more impressive. Potential buyers might understandably feel they've missed the opportunity, but it's always possible business is still firing on all cylinders. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand CrowdStrike Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with CrowdStrike Holdings .

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 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.