Investors Aren't Entirely Convinced By Xunlei Limited's (NASDAQ:XNET) Earnings

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10.3x Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ:XNET) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 19x and even P/E's higher than 35x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Xunlei as its earnings have been rising very briskly. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Xunlei

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 Xunlei's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Any Growth For Xunlei?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Xunlei's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 147% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 141% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 15% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Xunlei's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Final Word

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Xunlei currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is higher than the wider market forecast. When we see strong earnings with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. At least price risks look to be very low if recent medium-term earnings trends continue, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Xunlei with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

If P/E ratios interest you, 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.