When close to half the companies in the Capital Markets industry in the United States have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 3.3x, you may consider Blue Owl Capital Inc. (NYSE:OWL) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 4.7x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Blue Owl Capital Has Been Performing

Blue Owl Capital certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue more than most other companies. The P/S is probably high because investors think this strong revenue performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For Blue Owl Capital?

Blue Owl Capital's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 26%. Spectacularly, three year revenue growth has ballooned by several orders of magnitude, thanks in part to the last 12 months of revenue growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have been over the moon with those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the eleven analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 21% per annum over the next three years. With the industry only predicted to deliver 8.9% per annum, the company is positioned for a stronger revenue result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Blue Owl Capital's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more 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 Blue Owl Capital maintains its high P/S on the strength of its forecasted revenue growth being higher than the the rest of the Capital Markets industry, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in revenues is quite remote, justifying the elevated P/S ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Blue Owl Capital (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to 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.