Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC): What's The Analyst Consensus Outlook?

The most recent earnings announcement Symantec Corporation's (NASDAQ:SYMC) released in March 2018 confirmed that the company turned profitable again after experiencing negative earnings in the previous financial year. Below, I've laid out key growth figures on how market analysts view Symantec's earnings growth trajectory over the next few years and whether the future looks brighter. Note that I will be looking at net income excluding extraordinary items to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings. Check out our latest analysis for Symantec

Analysts' expectations for this coming year seems pessimistic, with earnings declining by a double-digit -100.08%. In the next couple of years, earnings should continue to be below today's level, with a decline of -84.20% in 2020, eventually reaching US$181.34m in 2021.

While it is informative understanding the rate of growth each year relative to today’s value, it may be more valuable gauging the rate at which the earnings are growing on average every year. The advantage of this method is that we can get a better picture of the direction of Symantec's earnings trajectory over the long run, irrespective of near term fluctuations, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To compute this rate, I've inserted a line of best fit through analyst consensus of forecasted earnings. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is -89.17%. This means that, we can assume Symantec will chip away at a rate of -89.17% every year for the next couple of years.

Next Steps:

For Symantec, there are three relevant factors you should further examine:

1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Valuation: What is SYMC worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SYMC is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of SYMC? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

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Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.