The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:GS) Price Is Right But Growth Is Lacking

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10x The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 15x and even P/E's higher than 30x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Goldman Sachs Group's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It seems that many are expecting the dour earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Goldman Sachs Group

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Goldman Sachs Group.

Is There Any Growth For Goldman Sachs Group?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Goldman Sachs Group would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 38%. Even so, admirably EPS has lifted 68% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should bring diminished returns, with earnings decreasing 0.1% each year as estimated by the analysts watching the company. That's not great when the rest of the market is expected to grow by 9.1% per annum.

In light of this, it's understandable that Goldman Sachs Group's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Bottom Line On Goldman Sachs Group'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.

As we suspected, our examination of Goldman Sachs Group's analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking earnings is contributing to its low P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Goldman Sachs Group you should be aware of.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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