Cheer Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHR) Surges 32% Yet Its Low P/S Is No Reason For Excitement

Cheer Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHR) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 32% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 46% in the last twelve months.

Even after such a large jump in price, Cheer Holding's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.1x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the Interactive Media and Services industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 1x and even P/S above 4x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

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See our latest analysis for Cheer Holding

How Cheer Holding Has Been Performing

For instance, Cheer Holding's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader industry in the near future. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of 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 Cheer Holding's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is Cheer Holding's Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Cheer Holding would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

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 3.4%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 3.8% in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 12% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this in mind, we understand why Cheer Holding's P/S is lower than most of its industry peers. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

The Bottom Line On Cheer Holding's P/S

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Cheer Holding's P/S close to the industry median. We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Cheer Holding revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term is contributing to its low P/S, given the industry is set to grow. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Given the current circumstances, it seems unlikely that the share price will experience any significant movement in either direction in the near future if recent medium-term revenue trends persist.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 5 warning signs for Cheer Holding (2 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.