Coal India Limited Beat Analyst Estimates: See What The Consensus Is Forecasting For Next Year

It's been a good week for Coal India Limited (NSE:COALINDIA) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest quarterly results, and the shares gained 3.0% to ₹466. Revenues were ₹362b, approximately in line with whatthe analysts expected, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) crushed expectations, coming in at ₹14.72, an impressive 23% ahead of estimates. 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

See our latest analysis for Coal India

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Coal India's 20 analysts is for revenues of ₹1.47t in 2025. This would reflect a modest 3.5% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to dip 2.2% to ₹46.62 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of ₹1.46t and earnings per share (EPS) of ₹43.93 in 2025. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Coal India's earnings potential following these results.

The consensus price target rose 10% to ₹408, suggesting that higher earnings estimates flow through to the stock's valuation as well. 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 Coal India analyst has a price target of ₹561 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at ₹180. 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 Coal India's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 2.8% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 10% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.9% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Coal India.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Coal India following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

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 Coal India analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Coal India .

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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.