With a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all the Media companies in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 1.1x and even P/S higher than 4x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

How Gannett Has Been Performing

Gannett 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. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this poor revenue performance isn't going to get any better. So while you could say the stock is cheap, investors will be looking for improvement before they see it as good value.

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

How Is Gannett's Revenue Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Gannett's to be considered reasonable.

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 8.0%. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 23% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 3.3% during the coming year according to the five analysts following the company. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 2.2%.

In light of this, it's understandable that Gannett's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

The Bottom Line On Gannett's P/S

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

It's clear to see that Gannett maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast for sliding revenue, as expected. As other companies in the industry are forecasting revenue growth, Gannett's poor outlook justifies its low P/S ratio. Unless there's material change, it's hard to envision a situation where the stock price will rise drastically.

You should always think about risks.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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.