Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) delivers shareholders massive 114% CAGR over 3 years, surging 8.7% in the last week alone

Some Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) shareholders are probably rather concerned to see the share price fall 44% over the last three months. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been spectacular. The longer term view reveals that the share price is up 881% in that period. As long term investors the recent fall doesn't detract all that much from the longer term story. The share price action could signify that the business itself is dramatically improved, in that time. It really delights us to see such great share price performance for investors.

Since the stock has added US$245m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

Marathon Digital Holdings wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good 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.

In the last 3 years Marathon Digital Holdings saw its revenue grow at 140% per year. That's much better than most loss-making companies. In light of this attractive revenue growth, it seems somewhat appropriate that the share price has been rocketing, boasting a gain of 114% per year, over the same period. It's always tempting to take profits after a share price gain like that, but high-growth companies like Marathon Digital Holdings can sometimes sustain strong growth for many years. In fact, it might be time to put it on your watchlist, if you're not already familiar with the stock.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

NasdaqCM:MARA Earnings and Revenue Growth February 16th 2022
It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Marathon Digital Holdings

A Different Perspective
Marathon Digital Holdings shareholders are down 34% for the year, but the market itself is up 3.7%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 6% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. 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. Like risks, for instance.