Unfortunately for some shareholders, the FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) share price has dived 29% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 70% loss during that time.

Even after such a large drop in price, given around half the companies in the United States' Electrical industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.5x, you may still consider FuelCell Energy as a stock to avoid entirely with its 3.6x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/S.

How Has FuelCell Energy Performed Recently?

FuelCell Energy hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining revenue compares poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth in their revenues on average. It might be that many expect the dour revenue performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/S from collapsing. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For FuelCell Energy?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the industry for P/S ratios like FuelCell Energy's to be considered reasonable.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 45%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 35% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the revenue growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 57% per annum as estimated by the nine analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 45% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this in mind, it's not hard to understand why FuelCell Energy's P/S is high relative to its industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

FuelCell Energy's shares may have suffered, but its P/S remains high. 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 look into FuelCell Energy shows that its P/S ratio remains high on the merit of its strong future revenues. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in revenues is quite remote, justifying the elevated P/S ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for FuelCell Energy that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of FuelCell Energy'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.

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