It's not possible to invest over long periods without making some bad investments. But really bad investments should be rare. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of Pioneering Technology Corp. (CVE:PTE); the share price is down a whopping 93% in the last three years. That would be a disturbing experience. The more recent news is of little comfort, with the share price down 86% in a year. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 30% in the last 90 days.

We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.

See our latest analysis for Pioneering Technology

Pioneering Technology 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.

In the last three years Pioneering Technology saw its revenue shrink by 6.9% per year. That's not what investors generally want to see. The share price fall of 58% (per year, over three years) is a stern reminder that money-losing companies are expected to grow revenue. We're generally averse to companies with declining revenues, but we're not alone in that. Don't let a share price decline ruin your calm. You make better decisions when you're calm.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

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

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Pioneering Technology shareholders are down 86% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 0.7%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 28% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

But note: Pioneering Technology may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.