Earnings Miss: SoftBank Corp. Missed EPS By 5.5% And Analysts Are Revising Their Forecasts

The interim results for SoftBank Corp. (TSE:9434) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. SoftBank beat revenue expectations by 2.1%, at JP¥3.2t. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at JP¥3.40, some 5.5% short of analyst estimates. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for SoftBank

Following last week's earnings report, SoftBank's twelve analysts are forecasting 2025 revenues to be JP¥6.39t, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to accumulate 2.0% to JP¥10.98. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of JP¥6.34t and earnings per share (EPS) of JP¥10.98 in 2025. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of JP¥208, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. Currently, the most bullish analyst values SoftBank at JP¥270 per share, while the most bearish prices it at JP¥150. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the SoftBank's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that SoftBank's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 2.7% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 6.5% p.a. growth over the last five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 3.3% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that SoftBank is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous 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.

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 SoftBank analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that SoftBank is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , 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.