The Siemens Healthineers AG (ETR:SHL) First-Quarter Results Are Out And Analysts Have Published New Forecasts

The quarterly results for Siemens Healthineers AG (ETR:SHL) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. The result was positive overall - although revenues of €5.2b were in line with what the analysts predicted, Siemens Healthineers surprised by delivering a statutory profit of €0.38 per share, modestly greater than expected. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

View our latest analysis for Siemens Healthineers

Following the latest results, Siemens Healthineers' 18 analysts are now forecasting revenues of €22.8b in 2024. This would be a reasonable 4.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to soar 34% to €1.82. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €22.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of €1.84 in 2024. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at €59.14. 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 Siemens Healthineers analyst has a price target of €66.50 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €48.00. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Siemens Healthineers shareholders.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Siemens Healthineers' past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that Siemens Healthineers' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 6.1% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 12% p.a. growth over the last five years. Compare this to the 16 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 6.5% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while Siemens Healthineers' revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as 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 Siemens Healthineers analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Siemens Healthineers you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.

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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.