Earnings Update: Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Just Reported And Analysts Are Boosting Their Estimates

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. The overall earnings picture was okay, with revenues of US$265m beating expectations by 13%. Statutory losses were US$0.74 per share, only marginally better than what the analysts had forecast. 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 Guardant Health after the latest results.

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Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Guardant Health from 22 analysts is for revenues of US$1.22b in 2026. If met, it would imply a substantial 35% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Losses are supposed to decline, shrinking 12% from last year to US$2.78. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$1.15b and losses of US$2.78 per share in 2026.

Check out our latest analysis for Guardant Health

The consensus price target rose 32% to US$93.82, with the analysts encouraged by the improved revenue outlook even though the company remains lossmaking. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Guardant Health analyst has a price target of US$115 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$60.00. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

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 Guardant Health'shistorical trends, as the 27% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2026 is roughly in line with the 23% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 5.4% per year. So although Guardant Health is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. Pleasantly, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

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

And what about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Guardant Health (of which 1 is potentially serious!) 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.