• EN

    • -+ 0.00%
    -+ 0.00%
    -+ 0.00%

    There's No Escaping MediaAlpha, Inc.'s (NYSE:MAX) Muted Revenues Despite A 36% Share Price Rise

    Simply Wall St·09/11/2025 10:29:47
    Listen to the news

    MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 36% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 23% in the last twelve months.

    Even after such a large jump in price, MediaAlpha may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.7x, since almost half of all companies in the Interactive Media and Services industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 1.3x and even P/S higher than 4x are not unusual. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

    Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

    See our latest analysis for MediaAlpha

    ps-multiple-vs-industry
    NYSE:MAX Price to Sales Ratio vs Industry September 11th 2025

    What Does MediaAlpha's Recent Performance Look Like?

    With revenue growth that's superior to most other companies of late, MediaAlpha has been doing relatively well. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the share price, and thus the P/S ratio. 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.

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

    Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

    The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as low as MediaAlpha's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry.

    Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 117% last year. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 92% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

    Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 7.3% per annum as estimated by the seven analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 13% each year growth forecast for the broader industry.

    In light of this, it's understandable that MediaAlpha's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

    The Bottom Line On MediaAlpha's P/S

    MediaAlpha's stock price has surged recently, but its but its P/S still remains modest. Using the price-to-sales 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 MediaAlpha maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider industry, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

    We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for MediaAlpha that you need to be mindful of.

    If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on MediaAlpha, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.