Geospace Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:GEOS) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 28% gain in the last month alone. Taking a wider view, although not as strong as the last month, the full year gain of 12% is also fairly reasonable.

Although its price has surged higher, there still wouldn't be many who think Geospace Technologies' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.3x is worth a mention when the median P/S in the United States' Energy Services industry is similar at about 0.9x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

What Does Geospace Technologies' Recent Performance Look Like?

Geospace Technologies has been doing a decent job lately as it's been growing revenue at a reasonable pace. Perhaps the expectation moving forward is that the revenue growth will track in line with the wider industry for the near term, which has kept the P/S subdued. Those who are bullish on Geospace Technologies will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The P/S?

Geospace Technologies' 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.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 6.9% last year. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see revenue up by 34% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 6.4% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this information, we find it interesting that Geospace Technologies is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Final Word

Geospace Technologies appears to be back in favour with a solid price jump bringing its P/S back in line with other companies in the industry 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.

We didn't quite envision Geospace Technologies' P/S sitting in line with the wider industry, considering the revenue growth over the last three-year is higher than the current industry outlook. It'd be fair to assume that potential risks the company faces could be the contributing factor to the lower than expected P/S. While recent revenue trends over the past medium-term suggest that the risk of a price decline is low, investors appear to see the likelihood of revenue fluctuations in the future.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Geospace Technologies, and understanding should be part of your investment process.

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.

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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.