Knorr-Bremse AG (ETR:KBX) just released its latest annual results and things are looking bullish. The company beat expectations with revenues of €8.0b arriving 2.9% ahead of forecasts. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) were €3.43, 2.3% ahead of estimates. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company’s performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we’ve aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Knorr-Bremse after the latest results.
View our latest analysis for Knorr-Bremse
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus, from the 15 analysts covering Knorr-Bremse, is for revenues of €7.87b in 2024. This implies a perceptible 2.1% reduction in Knorr-Bremse’s revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to expand 10% to €3.77. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of €7.87b and earnings per share (EPS) of €3.72 in 2024. The consensus analysts don’t seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there’s been no major change to their estimates.
It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at €68.00. That’s not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic Knorr-Bremse analyst has a price target of €79.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €46.00. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.
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 revenue is expected to slow, with a forecast annualised decline of 2.1% by the end of 2024. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 3.0% 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 3.4% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining – Knorr-Bremse is expected to lag the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most obvious conclusion is that there’s been no major change in the business’ prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at €68.00, 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 Knorr-Bremse. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year’s profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Knorr-Bremse going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..
Even so, be aware that Knorr-Bremse is showing 1 warning sign 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.