Results: Eastman Chemical Company Beat Earnings Expectations And Analysts Now Have New Forecasts

As you might know, Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) recently reported its full-year numbers. Revenues were US$9.4b, approximately in line with expectations, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) performed substantially better. EPS of US$7.67 were also better than expected, beating analyst predictions by 15%. 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 Eastman Chemical after the latest results.

View our latest analysis for Eastman Chemical

Following the latest results, Eastman Chemical's 17 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$9.63b in 2025. This would be a modest 2.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 7.0% to US$8.41. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$9.63b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$8.46 in 2025. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$116, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. 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 Eastman Chemical, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$128 and the most bearish at US$103 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Eastman Chemical is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

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. The analysts are definitely expecting Eastman Chemical's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 2.6% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 1.2% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.4% per year. So it's clear that despite the acceleration in growth, Eastman Chemical is expected to grow meaningfully slower than the industry average.

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. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than 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.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Eastman Chemical analysts - 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 1 warning sign for Eastman Chemical 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.