IQ Group Holdings Berhad's (KLSE:IQGROUP) Share Price Not Quite Adding Up

It's not a stretch to say that IQ Group Holdings Berhad's (KLSE:IQGROUP) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.6x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" for companies in the Electronic industry in Malaysia, where the median P/S ratio is around 1x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

View our latest analysis for IQ Group Holdings Berhad

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How IQ Group Holdings Berhad Has Been Performing

IQ Group Holdings Berhad has been doing a decent job lately as it's been growing revenue at a reasonable pace. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think this good revenue growth might only be parallel to the broader industry in the near future. 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 not quite in favour.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for IQ Group Holdings Berhad, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

IQ Group Holdings Berhad's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 4.4% gain to the company's revenues. The latest three year period has also seen a 11% overall rise in revenue, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing revenue over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 16% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's curious that IQ Group Holdings Berhad's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. They may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

What We Can Learn From IQ Group Holdings Berhad's P/S?

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Our examination of IQ Group Holdings Berhad revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't resulting in a lower P/S as per our expectations, given they look worse than current industry outlook. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/S as this revenue performance isn't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, it's hard to accept the current share price as fair value.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for IQ Group Holdings Berhad you should know about.

If you're unsure about the strength of IQ Group Holdings Berhad's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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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