The quarterly results for Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. Acuity Brands reported US$906m in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.84 beat expectations, being 5.3% higher than what the analysts expected. 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. 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 Acuity Brands

Taking into account the latest results, Acuity Brands' ten analysts currently expect revenues in 2024 to be US$3.90b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to rise 9.1% to US$13.51. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$3.87b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$12.98 in 2024. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Acuity Brands' earnings potential following these results.

The analysts have been lifting their price targets on the back of the earnings upgrade, with the consensus price target rising 9.2% to US$277. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Acuity Brands analyst has a price target of US$322 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$230. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

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 Acuity Brands'historical trends, as the 2.4% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 is roughly in line with the 2.8% 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 7.9% per year. So although Acuity Brands is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's forecast to grow slower than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Acuity Brands' 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 Acuity Brands' revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

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 estimates - from multiple Acuity Brands analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Acuity Brands is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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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.