To the annoyance of some shareholders, China Brilliant Global Limited (HKG:8026) shares are down a considerable 26% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. Longer-term shareholders will rue the drop in the share price, since it's now virtually flat for the year after a promising few quarters.

Although its price has dipped substantially, you could still be forgiven for thinking China Brilliant Global is a stock to steer clear of with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 4.4x, considering almost half the companies in Hong Kong's Retail Distributors industry have P/S ratios below 0.6x. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

See our latest analysis for China Brilliant Global

How Has China Brilliant Global Performed Recently?

For example, consider that China Brilliant Global's financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. Perhaps the market believes the company can do enough to outperform the rest of the industry in the near future, which is keeping the P/S ratio high. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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

In order to justify its P/S ratio, China Brilliant Global would need to produce outstanding growth that's well in excess of the industry.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 16%. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 3.8% overall. 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 information, we find it concerning that China Brilliant Global is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. 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.

The Final Word

A significant share price dive has done very little to deflate China Brilliant Global's very lofty P/S. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

Our examination of China Brilliant Global revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term isn't resulting in a P/S as low as we expected, given the industry is set to grow. 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. Should recent medium-term revenue trends persist, it would pose a significant risk to existing shareholders' investments and prospective investors will have a hard time accepting the current value of the stock.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for China Brilliant Global (of which 2 are concerning!) you should know about.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on China Brilliant Global, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.