You may think that with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.7x Diodes Incorporated (NASDAQ:DIOD) is definitely a stock worth checking out, seeing as almost half of all the Semiconductor companies in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 4x and even P/S above 11x 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 limited.

What Does Diodes' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

While the industry has experienced revenue growth lately, Diodes' revenue has gone into reverse gear, which is not great. Perhaps the P/S remains low as investors think the prospects of strong revenue growth aren't on the horizon. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Keen to find out how analysts think Diodes' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

How Is Diodes' Revenue Growth Trending?

Diodes' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling revenue, and importantly, perform much worse than the industry.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 10%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 28% in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the four analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 7.1% over the next year. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 33% growth forecast for the broader industry.

With this in consideration, its clear as to why Diodes' P/S is falling short industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Final Word

It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Diodes maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider industry, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. The company will need a change of fortune to justify the P/S rising higher in the future.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Diodes, and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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

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.