Yahoo Finance Analyst Estimates: Here's What Brokers Think Of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) After Its First-Quarter Report
Last week, you might have seen that Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) released its quarterly result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 2.0% to US$260 in the past week. Revenues of US$14b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at US$7.55, missing estimates by 2.5%. 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. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.
View our latest analysis for Charter Communications
Following last week's earnings report, Charter Communications' 24 analysts are forecasting 2024 revenues to be US$54.7b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to shrink 2.4% to US$32.97 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$54.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$33.54 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.
There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$339, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Charter Communications analyst has a price target of US$500 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$220. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.
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 pretty clear that there is an expectation that Charter Communications' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 0.1% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 4.8% 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 3.2% 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 Charter Communications.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share 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 US$339, 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 Charter Communications. 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 Charter Communications going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..
Before you take the next step you should know about the 1 warning sign for Charter Communications that we have uncovered.
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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.
