Results: Mondelez International, Inc. Beat Earnings Expectations And Analysts Now Have New Forecasts

Last week saw the newest first-quarter earnings release from Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ), an important milestone in the company's journey to build a stronger business. Revenues were US$9.3b, approximately in line with whatthe analysts expected, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) crushed expectations, coming in at US$1.04, an impressive 20% ahead of 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Mondelez International

After the latest results, the 19 analysts covering Mondelez International are now predicting revenues of US$36.9b in 2024. If met, this would reflect a credible 2.2% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to ascend 11% to US$3.55. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$37.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.47 in 2024. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$81.49, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock'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. There are some variant perceptions on Mondelez International, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$90.00 and the most bearish at US$73.00 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Mondelez International 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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Mondelez International's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 2.9% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 7.7% over the past five years. Compare this to the 138 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 2.9% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while Mondelez International's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the 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 Mondelez International following these results. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate 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.

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 Mondelez International going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that Mondelez International 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.