Investors in OneSpaWorld Holdings (NASDAQ:OSW) have seen returns of 22% over the past three years

One simple way to benefit from the stock market is to buy an index fund. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. Just take a look at OneSpaWorld Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:OSW), which is up 22%, over three years, soundly beating the market return of 10% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the returns haven't been quite so good recently, with shareholders up just 8.2%.

So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for OneSpaWorld Holdings

Because OneSpaWorld Holdings made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

OneSpaWorld Holdings' revenue trended up 79% each year over three years. That's well above most pre-profit companies. The share price rise of 7% 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 OneSpaWorld Holdings on your radar. A window of opportunity may reveal itself with time, if the business can trend to profitability.

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

earnings-and-revenue-growth

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

A Different Perspective

OneSpaWorld Holdings shareholders are up 8.2% 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 1.2% endured over half a decade. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for OneSpaWorld Holdings you should know about.

Of course OneSpaWorld Holdings 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.