Atlas Copco AB (publ) (STO:ATCO A) Just Released Its Full-Year Earnings: Here's What Analysts Think

Shareholders might have noticed that Atlas Copco AB (publ) (STO:ATCO A) filed its full-year result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 3.0% to kr184 in the past week. Atlas Copco reported in line with analyst predictions, delivering revenues of kr177b and statutory earnings per share of kr6.10, suggesting the business is executing well and in line with its plan. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Atlas Copco after the latest results.

See our latest analysis for Atlas Copco

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Atlas Copco's 18 analysts is for revenues of kr185.2b in 2025. This would reflect a modest 4.8% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to rise 4.3% to kr6.37. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of kr186.8b and earnings per share (EPS) of kr6.48 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.

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of kr189, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Atlas Copco analyst has a price target of kr238 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at kr122. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Atlas Copco's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 4.8% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 14% over the past five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 4.4% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Atlas Copco's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.

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. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at kr189, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Atlas Copco going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You can also see whether Atlas Copco is carrying too much debt, and whether its balance sheet is healthy, for free on our platform here.

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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.