Positive Sentiment Still Eludes Qifu Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:QFIN) Following 26% Share Price Slump

Qifu Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:QFIN) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 26% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Looking at the bigger picture, even after this poor month the stock is up 96% in the last year.

Although its price has dipped substantially, Qifu Technology may still be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5.8x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 17x and even P/E's higher than 31x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

Qifu Technology certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Qifu Technology

How Is Qifu Technology's Growth Trending?

Qifu Technology's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 57% gain to the company's bottom line. EPS has also lifted 19% in aggregate from three years ago, mostly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the ten analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 16% each year over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 10% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Qifu Technology's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Final Word

Having almost fallen off a cliff, Qifu Technology's share price has pulled its P/E way down as well. 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.

Our examination of Qifu Technology's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the positive outlook. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Qifu Technology you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Qifu Technology, 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.