Shareholders in BigBear.ai Holdings (NYSE:BBAI) are in the red if they invested a year ago

The art and science of stock market investing requires a tolerance for losing money on some of the shares you buy. But it's not unreasonable to try to avoid truly shocking capital losses. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI); the share price is down a whopping 72% in the last twelve months. While some investors are willing to stomach this sort of loss, they are usually professionals who spread their bets thinly. Because BigBear.ai Holdings hasn't been listed for many years, the market is still learning about how the business performs. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 67% in the last 90 days.

It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.

View our latest analysis for BigBear.ai Holdings

Given that BigBear.ai Holdings didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

BigBear.ai Holdings grew its revenue by 35% over the last year. That's definitely a respectable growth rate. Unfortunately, the market wanted something better, given it sent the share price 72% lower during the year. It could be that the losses are too much for investors to handle without losing their nerve. We'd posit that the future looks challenging, given the disconnect between revenue growth and the share price.

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

This free interactive report on BigBear.ai Holdings' balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

BigBear.ai Holdings shareholders are down 72% for the year, even worse than the market loss of 12%. There's no doubt that's a disappointment, but the stock may well have fared better in a stronger market. With the stock down 67% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand BigBear.ai Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - BigBear.ai Holdings has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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

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