E2open Parent Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:ETWO) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the Software industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 4.5x and even P/S above 11x 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 so limited.

What Does E2open Parent Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

E2open Parent Holdings could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance isn't going to get any better. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the industry for P/S ratios like E2open Parent Holdings' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that there was hardly any revenue growth to speak of for the company over the past year. The longer-term trend has been no better as the company has no revenue growth to show for over the last three years either. So it seems apparent to us that the company has struggled to grow revenue meaningfully over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the seven analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 1.1% over the next year. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 15%.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that E2open Parent Holdings' P/S is closely matching its industry peers. However, shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

The Final Word

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of E2open Parent Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking revenue is contributing to its low P/S. As other companies in the industry are forecasting revenue growth, E2open Parent Holdings' poor outlook justifies its low P/S ratio. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for E2open Parent Holdings that we have uncovered.

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).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.