Fortinet, Inc. Just Recorded A 13% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

Explore Fortinet's Fair Values from the Community and select yours

There's been a major selloff in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) shares in the week since it released its quarterly report, with the stock down 25% to US$75.30. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of US$1.6b were in line with what the analysts predicted, Fortinet surprised by delivering a statutory profit of US$0.57 per share, a notable 13% above expectations. 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.

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Following the latest results, Fortinet's 43 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$6.75b in 2025. This would be a modest 6.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to drop 10% to US$2.27 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$6.76b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.22 in 2025. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Fortinet's earnings potential following these results.

Check out our latest analysis for Fortinet

The consensus price target fell 15% to US$93.46, suggesting the increase in earnings forecasts was not enough to offset other the analysts concerns. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Fortinet, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$124 and the most bearish at US$75.00 per share. 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.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Fortinet's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 14% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 20% over the past five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 13% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Fortinet'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 Fortinet following these results. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as 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 Fortinet's future valuation.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Fortinet going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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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.