Analysts Have Been Trimming Their ZipRecruiter, Inc. (NYSE:ZIP) Price Target After Its Latest Report

It's been a sad week for ZipRecruiter, Inc. (NYSE:ZIP), who've watched their investment drop 17% to US$5.76 in the week since the company reported its full-year result. The results look positive overall; while revenues of US$474m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory losses were 4.0% smaller than expected, with ZipRecruiter losing US$0.13 per share. 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. 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 ZipRecruiter

Taking into account the latest results, the seven analysts covering ZipRecruiter provided consensus estimates of US$452.0m revenue in 2025, which would reflect a discernible 4.6% decline over the past 12 months. Losses are forecast to balloon 347% to US$0.58 per share. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$465.1m and US$0.25 per share in losses. While this year's revenue estimates dropped there was also a regrettable increase in loss per share expectations, suggesting the consensus has a bit of a mixed view on the stock.

The average price target fell 25% to US$7.80, implicitly signalling that lower earnings per share are a leading indicator for ZipRecruiter's valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic ZipRecruiter analyst has a price target of US$10.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$6.00. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

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 would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 4.6% annualised decline to the end of 2025. That is a notable change from historical growth of 2.7% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 10% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - ZipRecruiter is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to note is the forecast of increased losses next year, suggesting all may not be well at ZipRecruiter. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of ZipRecruiter's future valuation.

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 ZipRecruiter analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You still need to take note of risks, for example - ZipRecruiter has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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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.