Fullerton Technology Co., Ltd.’s (TWSE:6136) price-to-earnings (or “P/E”) ratio of 25.2x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in Taiwan, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 21x and even P/E’s below 15x are quite common. Nonetheless, we’d need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

For example, consider that Fullerton Technology’s financial performance has been poor lately as its earnings have been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Fullerton Technology

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Is There Enough Growth For Fullerton Technology?

There’s an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the market for P/E ratios like Fullerton Technology’s to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company’s profits fell to the tune of 31%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 104% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 22% over the next year, materially lower than the company’s recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Fullerton Technology is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Presumably shareholders aren’t keen to offload something they believe will continue to outmanoeuvre the bourse.

What We Can Learn From Fullerton Technology’s P/E?

Typically, we’d caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We’ve established that Fullerton Technology maintains its high P/E on the strength of its recent three-year growth being higher than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident earnings aren’t under threat. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, 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 3 warning signs for Fullerton Technology (of which 1 can’t be ignored!) you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Fullerton Technology. 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.