Ambertech Limited's (ASX:AMO) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.1x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Electronic industry in Australia, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 1.4x and even P/S above 8x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Check out our latest analysis for Ambertech

How Ambertech Has Been Performing

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Ambertech over the last year, which is not ideal at all. It might be that many expect the disappointing revenue performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/S. Those who are bullish on Ambertech will be hoping that this isn't the case so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

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 Ambertech's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is Ambertech's Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Ambertech 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 4.9%. Regardless, revenue has managed to lift by a handy 13% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Comparing the recent medium-term revenue trends against the industry's one-year growth forecast of 26% shows it's noticeably less attractive.

With this in consideration, it's easy to understand why Ambertech's P/S falls short of the mark set by its industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of Ambertech revealed its three-year revenue trends are contributing to its low P/S, given they look worse than current industry expectations. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 2 warning signs for Ambertech that you should be aware of.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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