MLP SE Just Beat Analyst Forecasts, And Analysts Have Been Updating Their Predictions

It's been a good week for MLP SE (ETR:MLP) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest third-quarter results, and the shares gained 3.2% to €6.44. Revenues were €244m, approximately in line with whatthe analysts expected, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) crushed expectations, coming in at €0.14, an impressive 49% ahead of estimates. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

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After the latest results, the three analysts covering MLP are now predicting revenues of €1.14b in 2026. If met, this would reflect an okay 7.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to expand 18% to €0.71. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €1.17b and earnings per share (EPS) of €0.73 in 2026. It's pretty clear that pessimism has reared its head after the latest results, leading to a weaker revenue outlook and a minor downgrade to earnings per share estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for MLP

The analysts made no major changes to their price target of €10.77, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on MLP's valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic MLP analyst has a price target of €12.50 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €9.80. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting MLP is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of MLP'shistorical trends, as the 6.0% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2026 is roughly in line with the 6.5% 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 2.3% per year. So although MLP is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected 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. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, but the latest forecasts still imply the business will grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at €10.77, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for MLP going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for MLP that you should be aware of.

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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.