As you might know, Dow Inc. ( NYSE:DOW ) recently reported its annual numbers. Revenues were in line with forecasts, at US$43b, although statutory earnings per share came in 15% below what the analysts expected, at US$1.57 per share. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.
Check out our latest analysis for Dow
Taking into account the latest results, Dow's 15 analysts currently expect revenues in 2025 to be US$43.0b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to reduce 2.6% to US$1.53 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$43.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.46 in 2025. So there's definitely been a decline in sentiment after the latest results, noting the pretty serious reduction to new EPS forecasts.
It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$46.00, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Dow, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$65.00 and the most bearish at US$38.00 per share. 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.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Dow's past performance and to peers in the same industry . It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Dow's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 0.2% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 1.9% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.4% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Dow.
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. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. 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.
With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Dow going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Plus, you should also learn about the 2 warning signswe've spotted with Dow .
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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.
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