When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 18x, you may consider Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 22.7x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.

Applied Materials certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. It seems that many are expecting the company to continue defying the broader market adversity, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Applied Materials will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

How Is Applied Materials' Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Applied Materials' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 18% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 56% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 9.8% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 10% each year, which is not materially different.

In light of this, it's curious that Applied Materials' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly average growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Final Word

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

Our examination of Applied Materials' analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook isn't impacting its high P/E as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are uncomfortable with the relatively high share price as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Applied Materials with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

You might be able to find a better investment than Applied Materials. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.