Worldline SA (EPA:WLN) Just Released Its Half-Year Earnings: Here's What Analysts Think

It's been a sad week for Worldline SA (EPA:WLN), who've watched their investment drop 17% to €8.32 in the week since the company reported its interim result. Revenues of €2.3b were in line with expectations, although statutory losses per share were €0.10, some 17% smaller than was expected. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

Check out our latest analysis for Worldline

Following last week's earnings report, Worldline's 18 analysts are forecasting 2024 revenues to be €4.67b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of €4.75b and earnings per share (EPS) of €0.62 in 2024. Overall, while the analysts have reconfirmed their revenue estimates, the consensus now no longer provides an EPS estimate. This implies that the market believes revenue is more important after these latest results.

There's been no real change to the consensus price target of €13.83, with Worldline seemingly executing in line with expectations. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic Worldline analyst has a price target of €28.90 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €9.00. With such a wide range in price targets, analysts are almost certainly betting on widely divergent outcomes in the underlying business. As a result it might not be a great idea to make decisions based on the consensus price target, which is after all just an average of this wide range of estimates.

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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Worldline's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 0.4% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 18% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 19% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Worldline.

The Bottom Line

The clear take away from these updates is that the analysts made no change to their revenue estimates for next year, with the business apparently performing in line with their models. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at €13.83, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

At least one of Worldline's 18 analysts has provided estimates out to 2026, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Worldline 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.

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