Earnings Beat: Proximus PLC Just Beat Analyst Forecasts, And Analysts Have Been Updating Their Models

Last week, you might have seen that Proximus PLC (EBR:PROX) released its quarterly result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 7.8% to €6.92 in the past week. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of €1.5b were what the analysts expected, Proximus surprised by delivering a (statutory) profit of €0.31 per share, an impressive 94% above what was forecast. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Proximus

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Proximus' 15 analysts is for revenues of €6.17b in 2024. This would reflect an okay 2.9% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to shrink 6.5% to €1.05 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €6.23b and earnings per share (EPS) of €1.11 in 2024. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the small dip in their earnings per share numbers for next year.

The consensus price target held steady at €9.51, with the analysts seemingly voting that their lower forecast earnings are not expected to lead to a lower stock price in the foreseeable future. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Proximus analyst has a price target of €14.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €6.60. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. The analysts are definitely expecting Proximus' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 3.8% annualised growth to the end of 2024 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 1.5% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 2.0% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Proximus to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Proximus analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Proximus is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are concerning...

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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.