H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) Just Reported And Analysts Have Been Lifting Their Price Targets

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. The company beat expectations with revenues of CN¥7.0b arriving 3.1% ahead of forecasts. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) were CN¥4.60, 4.5% ahead of estimates. 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. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

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Following the latest results, H World Group's 19 analysts are now forecasting revenues of CN¥26.6b in 2026. This would be an okay 7.1% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to shoot up 27% to CN¥16.39. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of CN¥26.3b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥16.42 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 H World Group

With the analysts reconfirming their revenue and earnings forecasts, it's surprising to see that the price target rose 6.7% to US$49.24. It looks as though they previously had some doubts over whether the business would live up to their expectations. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on H World Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$57.97 and the most bearish at US$37.28 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting H World Group is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that H World Group's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 5.6% annualised growth rate until the end of 2026 being well below the historical 20% 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 10% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that H World Group is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that H World Group's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider 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.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on H World Group. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for H World Group going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for H World Group 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.