Results: Lincoln Educational Services Corporation Exceeded Expectations And The Consensus Has Updated Its Estimates

A week ago, Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:LINC) came out with a strong set of third-quarter numbers that could potentially lead to a re-rate of the stock. The company beat forecasts, with revenue of US$141m, some 8.9% above estimates, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) coming in at US$0.12, 400% ahead of expectations. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Lincoln Educational Services after the latest results.

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Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Lincoln Educational Services' five analysts is for revenues of US$548.2m in 2026. This would reflect a decent 11% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to soar 55% to US$0.69. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$536.6m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.67 in 2026. It looks like there's been a modest increase in sentiment following the latest results, withthe analysts becoming a bit more optimistic in their predictions for both revenues and earnings.

Check out our latest analysis for Lincoln Educational Services

Althoughthe analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$26.20, suggesting that the forecast performance does not have a long term impact on the company's valuation. 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. The most optimistic Lincoln Educational Services analyst has a price target of US$27.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$25.00. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Lincoln Educational Services'historical trends, as the 8.5% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2026 is roughly in line with the 9.9% annual growth over the past five years. Juxtapose this against our data, which suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 9.7% per year. So although Lincoln Educational Services is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's only growing at about the rate of the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Lincoln Educational Services following these results. There was also an upgrade to revenue estimates, although as we saw earlier, forecast growth is only expected to be about the same as 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.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Lincoln Educational Services. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have estimates - from multiple Lincoln Educational Services analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

It is also worth noting that we have found 1 warning sign for Lincoln Educational Services that you need to take into consideration.

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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.