WildBrain Ltd.'s (TSE:WILD) Shares May Have Run Too Fast Too Soon

With a median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of close to 0.5x in the Entertainment industry in Canada, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about WildBrain Ltd.'s (TSE:WILD) P/S ratio, which comes in at about the same. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

View our latest analysis for WildBrain

What Does WildBrain's Recent Performance Look Like?

While the industry has experienced revenue growth lately, WildBrain's revenue has gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour revenue performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/S from falling. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a relatively elevated price for a company with this sort of growth profile.

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on WildBrain will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The P/S?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, WildBrain would need to produce growth that's similar to the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 1.8% decrease to the company's top line. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 25% overall rise in revenue. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 0.5% over the next year. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 27%, which paints a poor picture.

In light of this, it's somewhat alarming that WildBrain's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company reject the analyst cohort's pessimism and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as these declining revenues are likely to weigh on the share price eventually.

The Bottom Line On WildBrain's P/S

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

While WildBrain's P/S isn't anything out of the ordinary for companies in the industry, we didn't expect it given forecasts of revenue decline. With this in mind, we don't feel the current P/S is justified as declining revenues are unlikely to support a more positive sentiment for long. If the declining revenues were to materialize in the form of a declining share price, shareholders will be feeling the pinch.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for WildBrain that we have uncovered.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.