A framework for understanding the geometry of continuous actions of $\mathbb Z^d$ was developed by Boyle and Lind using the notion of expansive behaviour along lower-dimensional subspaces. For algebraic $\mathbb Z^d$-actions of entropy rank one, the expansive subdynamics are readily described in terms of Lyapunov exponents. Here we show that periodic point counts for elements of an entropy rank-one action determine the expansive subdynamics. Moreover, the finer structure of the non-expansive set is visible in the topological and smooth structure of a set of functions associated to the periodic point data.