Earnings Beat: Leonardo S.p.a. Just Beat Analyst Forecasts, And Analysts Have Been Updating Their Models

Leonardo S.p.a. (BIT:LDO) defied analyst predictions to release its first-quarter results, which were ahead of market expectations. The company beat forecasts, with revenue of €4.2b, some 5.7% above estimates, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) coming in at €0.66, 264% ahead of expectations. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

We've discovered 1 warning sign about Leonardo. View them for free.

After the latest results, the 14 analysts covering Leonardo are now predicting revenues of €18.9b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a solid 9.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of €18.8b and earnings per share (EPS) of €1.71 in 2025. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Leonardo

The average price target rose 5.8% to €49.06, with the analysts clearly having become more optimistic about Leonardo'sprospects following these results. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Leonardo analyst has a price target of €60.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €25.10. 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.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Leonardo's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Leonardo's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 13% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 5.2% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 11% annually. Leonardo is expected to grow at about the same rate as its industry, so it's not clear that we can draw any conclusions from its growth relative to competitors.

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. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

At least one of Leonardo's 14 analysts has provided estimates out to 2027, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

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

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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.