In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. So we wouldn't blame long term Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings, LLC (NYSE:MIC) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 96% over a half decade. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 91% in the last three months. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

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

View our latest analysis for Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings

Given that Macquarie Infrastructure 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. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last five years Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings saw its revenue shrink by 17% per year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. So it's not altogether surprising to see the share price down 14% per year in the same time period. This kind of price performance makes us very wary, especially when combined with falling revenue. Of course, the poor performance could mean the market has been too severe selling down. That can happen.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings' total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Dividends have been really beneficial for Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings shareholders, and that cash payout contributed to why its TSR of 2.7%, over the last 5 years, is better than the share price return.