Unfortunately, investing is risky - companies can and do go bankrupt. On the other hand, if you find a high quality business to buy (at the right price) you can more than double your money! For example, the Air T, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIRT) share price has soared 109% in the last year. Most would be very happy with that, especially in just one year! We note the stock price is up 1.5% in the last seven days. Having said that, the longer term returns aren't so impressive, with stock gaining just 13% in three years.

View our latest analysis for Air T

Air T isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Air T actually shrunk its revenue over the last year, with a reduction of 26%. So we would not have expected the share price to rise 109%. It just goes to show the market doesn't always pay attention to the reported numbers. It's quite likely the revenue fall was already priced in, anyway.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on Air T's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Air T has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 109% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 13% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with 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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Air T (2 don't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course Air T 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 US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.