What Wave Electronics Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:095270) P/S Is Not Telling You

It's not a stretch to say that Wave Electronics Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:095270) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.8x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" for companies in the Communications industry in Korea, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.9x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

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View our latest analysis for Wave Electronics

What Does Wave Electronics' Recent Performance Look Like?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Wave Electronics over the last year, which is not ideal at all. Perhaps investors believe the recent revenue performance is enough to keep in line with the industry, which is keeping the P/S from dropping off. If you like the company, you'd at least be hoping this is the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Wave Electronics' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is Wave Electronics' Revenue Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Wave Electronics' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 11%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow revenue by an impressive 82% in total over the last three years. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the revenue growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 35% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's curious that Wave Electronics' P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

What We Can Learn From Wave Electronics' P/S?

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

Our examination of Wave Electronics revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't resulting in a lower P/S as per our expectations, given they look worse than current industry outlook. When we see weak revenue with slower than industry growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, bringing the P/S back in line with expectations. Unless there is a significant improvement in the company's medium-term performance, it will be difficult to prevent the P/S ratio from declining to a more reasonable level.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Wave Electronics you should be aware of.

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.