One of my favorite financial writers is Paul Sturm. He wrote recently about the importance of revenue growth and price/sales ratios in determining relative valuation of a stock.
He points out how earnings can be manipulated in reporting a stock's results, but in general, it is more difficult to manipulate revenue numbers (but not unheard of!). Also, surprises on revenue numbers on the upside are important factors in a stock's price performance.
I shall have to look harder at those Price/Sales figures and work on getting some industry numbers for each stock. Meanwhile, read Paul's article and enjoy!
Bob