When close to half the companies in the Semiconductor industry in Korea have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.6x, you may consider YC Corporation (KOSDAQ:232140) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 4.8x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
Check out our latest analysis for YC
Recent times haven't been great for YC as its revenue has been rising slower than most other companies. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to undergo a reversal of fortunes, which has elevated the P/S ratio. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.
Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on YC will help you uncover what's on the horizon.In order to justify its P/S ratio, YC would need to produce outstanding growth that's well in excess of the industry.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 23% gain to the company's top line. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year revenue frustratingly shrank by 4.4% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.
Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 58% during the coming year according to the lone analyst following the company. With the industry only predicted to deliver 49%, the company is positioned for a stronger revenue result.
In light of this, it's understandable that YC's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
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.
We've established that YC maintains its high P/S on the strength of its forecasted revenue growth being higher than the the rest of the Semiconductor industry, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident future revenues aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
Having said that, be aware YC is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.
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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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.