East Money Information Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300059) just released its latest full-year report and things are not looking great. East Money InformationLtd missed analyst forecasts, with revenues of CN¥11b and statutory earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥0.52, falling short by 9.2% and 3.5% respectively. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on East Money InformationLtd after the latest results.

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from East Money InformationLtd's 19 analysts is for revenues of CN¥13.2b in 2024. This reflects a sizeable 21% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to expand 15% to CN¥0.60. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of CN¥13.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥0.62 in 2024. The analysts are less bullish than they were before these results, given the reduced revenue forecasts and the small dip in earnings per share expectations.

The analysts made no major changes to their price target of CN¥17.11, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on East Money InformationLtd's valuation. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic East Money InformationLtd analyst has a price target of CN¥30.48 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at CN¥9.96. With such a wide range in price targets, analysts are almost certainly betting on widely divergent outcomes in the underlying business. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business.

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. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of East Money InformationLtd'shistorical trends, as the 21% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 is roughly in line with the 26% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 12% per year. So it's pretty clear that East Money InformationLtd is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.

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. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, but the latest forecasts still imply the business will grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at CN¥17.11, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for East Money InformationLtd going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.