YouGov plc Just Missed EPS By 8.3%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

Last week, you might have seen that YouGov plc (LON:YOU) released its annual result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 8.6% to UK£2.60 in the past week. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of UK£389m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 8.3% to hit UK£0.11 per share. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

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Taking into account the latest results, YouGov's six analysts currently expect revenues in 2026 to be UK£394.5m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to bounce 102% to UK£0.23. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of UK£392.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of UK£0.25 in 2026. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a small dip in their earnings per share forecasts.

Check out our latest analysis for YouGov

The average price target fell 19% to UK£4.52, with reduced earnings forecasts clearly tied to a lower valuation estimate. 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 YouGov, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at UK£6.00 and the most bearish at UK£2.53 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that YouGov's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 1.4% annualised growth rate until the end of 2026 being well below the historical 20% p.a. growth over the last five years. Compare this to the 27 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 1.2% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it looks like YouGov is forecast to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for YouGov. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on YouGov. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for YouGov going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.

And what about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for YouGov (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.

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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.