Pinning Down Grove Collaborative Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:GROV) P/S Is Difficult Right Now

It's not a stretch to say that Grove Collaborative Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:GROV) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.3x seems quite "middle-of-the-road" for Specialty Retail companies in the United States, seeing as it matches the P/S ratio of the wider industry. 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 Grove Collaborative Holdings

How Has Grove Collaborative Holdings Performed Recently?

Grove Collaborative Holdings could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. Perhaps the market is expecting its poor revenue performance to improve, keeping the P/S from dropping. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Keen to find out how analysts think Grove Collaborative Holdings' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

How Is Grove Collaborative Holdings' Revenue Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/S like Grove Collaborative Holdings' is when the company's growth is tracking the industry closely.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 18% decrease to the company's top line. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 25% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 6.7% during the coming year according to the dual analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 6.3%, which paints a poor picture.

With this in consideration, we think it doesn't make sense that Grove Collaborative Holdings' P/S is closely matching its industry peers. 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 Key Takeaway

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.

It appears that Grove Collaborative Holdings currently trades on a higher than expected P/S for a company whose revenues are forecast to 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 poor revenue outlook tells us one thing, it's that these current price levels could be unsustainable.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 4 warning signs for Grove Collaborative Holdings (1 is a bit concerning!) that you need to be mindful 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.