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Analysts Have Made A Financial Statement On Zebra Technologies Corporation's (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Third-Quarter Report
It's been a sad week for Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA), who've watched their investment drop 15% to US$322 in the week since the company reported its quarterly result. Zebra Technologies beat revenue expectations by 2.8%, at US$1.6b. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at US$3.43, some 3.4% short of analyst estimates. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Zebra Technologies' 15 analysts is for revenues of US$6.68b in 2027. This would reflect a notable 8.7% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to leap 34% to US$17.16. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$6.62b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$16.57 in 2027. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.
See our latest analysis for Zebra Technologies
The consensus price target was unchanged at US$417, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Zebra Technologies, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$460 and the most bearish at US$350 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.
One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. For example, we noticed that Zebra Technologies' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 6.9% growth to the end of 2027 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 0.6% a year over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 14% annually for the foreseeable future. So although Zebra Technologies' revenue growth is expected to improve, it is still expected to grow slower than the industry.
The Bottom Line
The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Zebra Technologies' earnings potential next year. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Zebra Technologies' revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$417, 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 Zebra Technologies going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Even so, be aware that Zebra Technologies is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...
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