Datalogic S.p.A. (BIT:DAL) Yearly Results Just Came Out: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For This Year

It's been a sad week for Datalogic S.p.A. (BIT:DAL), who've watched their investment drop 12% to €5.11 in the week since the company reported its annual result. It was an okay result overall, with revenues coming in at €537m, roughly what the analysts had been expecting. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

View our latest analysis for Datalogic

Taking into account the latest results, the three analysts covering Datalogic provided consensus estimates of €525.0m revenue in 2024, which would reflect a perceptible 2.2% decline over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to bounce 202% to €0.53. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of €586.5m and earnings per share (EPS) of €0.45 in 2024. So there's been quite a change-up of views after the latest results, with the analysts making a serious cut to their revenue forecasts while also granting a decent improvement in to the earnings per share numbers.

There's been no real change to the average price target of €8.56, with the lower revenue and higher earnings forecasts not expected to meaningfully impact the company's valuation over a longer timeframe. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Datalogic at €11.20 per share, while the most bearish prices it at €6.50. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Datalogic shareholders.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Datalogic's past performance and to peers in the same industry. These estimates imply that revenue is expected to slow, with a forecast annualised decline of 2.2% by the end of 2024. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 1.0% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 5.2% per year. It's pretty clear that Datalogic's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Datalogic's earnings potential next year. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. Yet - earnings are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. 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.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates - from multiple Datalogic analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

And what about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Datalogic 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.