The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For instance the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) (TADAWUL:1211) share price is 213% higher than it was three years ago. How nice for those who held the stock! It's also good to see the share price up 32% over the last quarter.

Since the stock has added ر.س8.7b to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden)

While Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) 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. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden)'s revenue trended up 25% each year over three years. That's well above most pre-profit companies. Meanwhile, the share price performance has been pretty solid at 46% compound over three years. But it does seem like the market is paying attention to strong revenue growth. Nonetheless, we'd say Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) is still worth investigating - successful businesses can often keep growing for long periods.

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

Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. You can see what analysts are predicting for Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) shareholders gained a total return of 6.0% during the year. But that was short of the market average. It's probably a good sign that the company has an even better long term track record, having provided shareholders with an annual TSR of 22% over five years. It's quite possible the business continues to execute with prowess, even as the share price gains are slowing. 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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) you should know about.

Of course Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) 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 Saudi exchanges.

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.