Haleon plc Beat Analyst Estimates: See What The Consensus Is Forecasting For This Year

Last week saw the newest quarterly earnings release from Haleon plc (LON:HLN), an important milestone in the company's journey to build a stronger business. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of UK£2.9b were in line with what the analysts predicted, Haleon surprised by delivering a statutory profit of UK£0.046 per share, a notable 14% above expectations. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Haleon after the latest results.

View our latest analysis for Haleon

Following last week's earnings report, Haleon's 15 analysts are forecasting 2024 revenues to be UK£11.4b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 35% to UK£0.16. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of UK£11.4b and earnings per share (EPS) of UK£0.16 in 2024. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of UK£3.62, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Haleon, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at UK£4.10 and the most bearish at UK£2.90 per share. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Haleon's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Haleon's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 2.6% annualised growth to the end of 2024 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 0.2% per annum over the past year. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 3.6% per year. It seems obvious that, while the future growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, Haleon is expected to grow slower than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will 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.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Haleon 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 1 warning sign for Haleon 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.