Kadant Inc. Just Beat Earnings Expectations: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) just released its third-quarter report and things are looking bullish. Results were good overall, with revenues beating analyst predictions by 4.4% to hit US$272m. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at US$2.35, some 6.3% above whatthe analysts had expected. 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. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

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Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Kadant's three analysts is for revenues of US$1.12b in 2026. This reflects a notable 9.4% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to swell 20% to US$10.39. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$1.12b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$10.57 in 2026. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Kadant

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$338. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Kadant, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$380 and the most bearish at US$295 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Kadant is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

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. We would highlight that Kadant's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 7.4% annualised growth rate until the end of 2026 being well below the historical 9.9% 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 5.4% annually. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Kadant is also expected to grow faster than the wider 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. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$338, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Kadant going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Kadant that you should be aware of.

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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.