Yahoo Finance Randstad N.V. (AMS:RAND) First-Quarter Results Just Came Out: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For This Year
Randstad N.V. (AMS:RAND) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 5.5% to €45.69 in the week after its latest first-quarter results. Revenues of €5.9b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at €0.48, missing estimates by 3.3%. 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.
View our latest analysis for Randstad
Taking into account the latest results, Randstad's 13 analysts currently expect revenues in 2024 to be €24.7b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to dip 8.5% to €2.84 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of €25.3b and earnings per share (EPS) of €3.01 in 2024. It's pretty clear that pessimism has reared its head after the latest results, leading to a weaker revenue outlook and a minor downgrade to earnings per share estimates.
The analysts made no major changes to their price target of €50.63, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on Randstad's valuation. 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 Randstad, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at €80.00 and the most bearish at €41.00 per share. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.
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. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 0.9% annualised decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 3.7% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 4.9% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Randstad is expected to lag the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates - from multiple Randstad analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Plus, you should also learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Randstad .
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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.
