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Investors in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) had a good week, as its shares rose 9.1% to close at US$50.40 following the release of its third-quarter results. Revenues fell badly short of expectations, with revenue of US$3.1b missing analyst predictions by 20%. Unsurprisingly, the statutory profit the analysts had been forecasting evaporated, turning into a loss of US$0.47 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 Equitable Holdings
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Equitable Holdings' seven analysts is for revenues of US$16.7b in 2025. This would reflect a major 52% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Equitable Holdings is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$6.41 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$16.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.37 in 2025. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.
The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$48.90, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. 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 Equitable Holdings analyst has a price target of US$60.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$43.00. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.
Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that Equitable Holdings' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 40% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 2.2% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 4.1% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Equitable Holdings is expected to grow much faster than its industry.