Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Annual Results: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For This Year

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 2.9% to US$112 in the week after its latest annual results. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of US$30b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 3.5% to hit US$5.71 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

See our latest analysis for Duke Energy

Taking into account the latest results, Duke Energy's twelve analysts currently expect revenues in 2025 to be US$30.6b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to swell 12% to US$6.32. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$31.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.32 in 2025. The consensus seems maybe a little more pessimistic, trimming their revenue forecasts after the latest results even though there was no change to its EPS estimates.

The consensus has reconfirmed its price target of US$121, showing that the analysts don't expect weaker revenue expectations next year to have a material impact on Duke Energy's market value. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Duke Energy, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$132 and the most bearish at US$111 per share. The narrow spread of estimates could suggest that the business' future is relatively easy to value, or thatthe analysts have a strong view on its prospects.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that Duke Energy's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 0.7% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 5.6% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.8% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Duke Energy.

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 negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. Even so, earnings are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. The consensus price target held steady at US$121, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Duke Energy. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Duke Energy 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 Duke Energy 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.