Yahoo Finance United Internet AG Just Missed EPS By 19%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next
United Internet AG (ETR:UTDI) missed earnings with its latest quarterly results, disappointing overly-optimistic forecasters. It wasn't a great result overall - while revenue fell marginally short of analyst estimates at €1.6b, statutory earnings missed forecasts by 19%, coming in at just €0.34 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for United Internet
After the latest results, the twelve analysts covering United Internet are now predicting revenues of €6.51b in 2024. If met, this would reflect an okay 4.1% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to soar 53% to €1.93. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €6.49b and earnings per share (EPS) of €2.04 in 2024. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a small dip in their earnings per share forecasts.
It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at €28.59, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. 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 United Internet, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at €43.00 and the most bearish at €23.00 per share. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the United Internet's past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that United Internet's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 5.6% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 4.3% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 1.5% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that United Internet is expected to grow much faster than its industry.
The Bottom Line
The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for United Internet. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at €28.59, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
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 forecasts for United Internet going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Even so, be aware that United Internet is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , 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.
