Joyware Electronics Co.,Ltd (SZSE:300270) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 27% gain and recovering from prior weakness. But the gains over the last month weren't enough to make shareholders whole, as the share price is still down 4.1% in the last twelve months.

Following the firm bounce in price, you could be forgiven for thinking Joyware ElectronicsLtd is a stock to steer clear of with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 15.8x, considering almost half the companies in China's Electronic industry have P/S ratios below 3.6x. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Joyware ElectronicsLtd Has Been Performing

For example, consider that Joyware ElectronicsLtd's financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. One possibility is that the P/S is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

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

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Joyware ElectronicsLtd'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 65%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 24% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Weighing that medium-term revenue trajectory against the broader industry's one-year forecast for expansion of 26% shows it's an unpleasant look.

With this in mind, we find it worrying that Joyware ElectronicsLtd's P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

What We Can Learn From Joyware ElectronicsLtd's P/S?

Joyware ElectronicsLtd's P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Joyware ElectronicsLtd currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Joyware ElectronicsLtd you should know about.

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

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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.