Need To Know: Analysts Just Made A Substantial Cut To Their Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Estimates

Today is shaping up negative for Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a substantial negative revision to this year's forecasts. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting the analysts have soured majorly on the business.

Following the latest downgrade, the current consensus, from the 13 analysts covering Zebra Technologies, is for revenues of US$4.5b in 2023, which would reflect a considerable 17% reduction in Zebra Technologies' sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to dive 52% to US$6.09 in the same period. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$5.5b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$12.32 in 2023. Indeed, we can see that the analysts are a lot more bearish about Zebra Technologies' prospects, administering a measurable cut to revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot.

Check out our latest analysis for Zebra Technologies

It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 9.2% to US$306.

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. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 32% by the end of 2023. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 8.2% 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 5.4% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Zebra Technologies is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and the latest forecasts imply the business will grow sales slower than the wider market. With a serious cut to this year's expectations and a falling price target, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were becoming wary of Zebra Technologies.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Zebra Technologies going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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.