Further weakness as SEEK (ASX:SEK) drops 3.7% this week, taking five-year losses to 35%

Simply Wall St

Thu, February 12, 2026 at 5:18 AM GMT+9 3 min read

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For many, the main point of investing is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But every investor is virtually certain to have both over-performing and under-performing stocks. So we wouldn’t blame long term SEEK Limited (ASX:SEK) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 40% over a half decade. And it’s not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 22% in the last year. Furthermore, it’s down 27% in about a quarter. That’s not much fun for holders.

Since SEEK has shed AU$253m from its value in the past 7 days, let’s see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business’ economics.

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In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company’s share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During five years of share price growth, SEEK moved from a loss to profitability. That would generally be considered a positive, so we are surprised to see the share price is down. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

Revenue is actually up 13% over the time period. So it seems one might have to take closer look at the fundamentals to understand why the share price languishes. After all, there may be an opportunity.

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

ASX:SEK Earnings and Revenue Growth February 11th 2026

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think SEEK will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for SEEK the TSR over the last 5 years was -35%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

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A Different Perspective

SEEK shareholders are down 20% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 7.6%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year’s performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 6% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should “buy when there is blood on the streets”, but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It’s always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand SEEK better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the ** 2 warning signs ** we’ve spotted with SEEK .

SEEK is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch** with us directly.**_ Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com._

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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