Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. For example, the TXO Partners, L.P. (NYSE:TXO) share price is down 11% in the last year. That falls noticeably short of the market return of around 34%. Because TXO Partners hasn't been listed for many years, the market is still learning about how the business performs.

Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.

Check out our latest analysis for TXO Partners

Because TXO Partners made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In just one year TXO Partners saw its revenue fall by 25%. That looks pretty grim, at a glance. The stock price has languished lately, falling 11% in a year. What would you expect when revenue is falling, and it doesn't make a profit? It's hard to escape the conclusion that buyers must envision either growth down the track, cost cutting, or both.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on TXO Partners

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, TXO Partners' TSR for the last 1 year was 0.2%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

TXO Partners shareholders have gained 0.2% for the year (even including dividends). While it's always nice to make a profit on the stock market, we do note that the TSR was no better than the broader market return of about 34%. The last three months haven't been great for shareholder returns, since the share price has trailed the market by 11% in the last three months. But a weak quarter certainly doesn't diminish the longer-term achievements of the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand TXO Partners better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with TXO Partners (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: most of them are flying under the radar).

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