Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 29% gain in the last month alone. The annual gain comes to 108% following the latest surge, making investors sit up and take notice.

Following the firm bounce in price, Broadcom may be sending strong sell signals at present with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 19.7x, when you consider almost half of the companies in the Semiconductor industry in the United States have P/S ratios under 4.6x and even P/S lower than 2x aren't out of the ordinary. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

What Does Broadcom's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Recent times haven't been great for Broadcom as its revenue has been rising slower than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is high because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance will improve markedly. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is Broadcom's Revenue Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as steep as Broadcom's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry decidedly.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 22% gain to the company's top line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 67% overall rise in revenue, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 21% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to expand by 27% each year, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's alarming that Broadcom's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

What Does Broadcom's P/S Mean For Investors?

Broadcom's P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. 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.

Despite analysts forecasting some poorer-than-industry revenue growth figures for Broadcom, this doesn't appear to be impacting the P/S in the slightest. The weakness in the company's revenue estimate doesn't bode well for the elevated P/S, which could take a fall if the revenue sentiment doesn't improve. At these price levels, investors should remain cautious, particularly if things don't improve.

Having said that, be aware Broadcom is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

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).

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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.

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