Community Health Systems, Inc. Beat Analyst Estimates: See What The Consensus Is Forecasting For Next Year

The investors in Community Health Systems, Inc.'s (NYSE:CYH) will be rubbing their hands together with glee today, after the share price leapt 31% to US$4.12 in the week following its third-quarter results. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 3.3% to hit US$3.1b. Community Health Systems also reported a statutory profit of US$0.96, which was a nice improvement from the loss that the analysts were predicting. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Community Health Systems after the latest results.

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Taking into account the latest results, Community Health Systems' eight analysts currently expect revenues in 2026 to be US$12.7b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. The company is forecast to report a statutory loss of US$0.63 in 2026, a sharp decline from a profit over the last year. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$12.7b and losses of US$0.60 per share in 2026. So it's pretty clear consensus is mixed on Community Health Systems after the new consensus numbers; while the analysts held their revenue numbers steady, they also administered a pronounced increase to per-share loss expectations.

See our latest analysis for Community Health Systems

Despite expectations of heavier losses next year,the analysts have lifted their price target 9.6% to US$3.91, perhaps implying these losses are not expected to be recurring over the long term. 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 Community Health Systems analyst has a price target of US$5.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$3.00. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Community Health Systems shareholders.

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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Community Health Systems' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2026 expected to display 0.5% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 1.2% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.7% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Community Health Systems.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to note is the forecast of increased losses next year, suggesting all may not be well at Community Health Systems. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Community Health Systems' revenue is expected to perform worse 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 Community Health Systems. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Community Health Systems 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 4 warning signs for Community Health Systems (of which 3 are a bit concerning!) 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.