Analysts Have Made A Financial Statement On GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft's (ETR:G1A) Second-Quarter Report

Investors in GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:G1A) had a good week, as its shares rose 2.1% to close at €40.06 following the release of its second-quarter results. It was a credible result overall, with revenues of €1.3b and statutory earnings per share of €0.59 both in line with analyst estimates, showing that GEA Group is executing in line with expectations. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

See our latest analysis for GEA Group

Taking into account the latest results, GEA Group's 13 analysts currently expect revenues in 2024 to be €5.41b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to increase 3.4% to €2.54. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €5.46b and earnings per share (EPS) of €2.44 in 2024. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

The consensus price target was unchanged at €45.60, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic GEA Group analyst has a price target of €52.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €38.50. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting GEA Group is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of GEA Group'shistorical trends, as the 3.1% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 is roughly in line with the 2.7% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 4.5% per year. So although GEA Group is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's forecast to grow slower than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around GEA Group's earnings potential next year. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that GEA Group's revenue is expected to perform worse 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 GEA Group analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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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.