Last week saw the newest full-year earnings release from Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED), an important milestone in the company's journey to build a stronger business. Results look mixed - while revenue fell marginally short of analyst estimates at US$15b, statutory earnings were in line with expectations, at US$7.25 per share. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Consolidated Edison's twelve analysts is for revenues of US$15.7b in 2024. This would reflect a satisfactory 7.0% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to dive 27% to US$5.32 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$15.5b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.35 in 2024. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$90.89, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Consolidated Edison at US$103 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$75.00. 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.

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 clear from the latest estimates that Consolidated Edison's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 7.0% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 5.6% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 3.3% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Consolidated Edison is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

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. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$90.89, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Consolidated Edison analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Consolidated Edison (including 2 which can't be ignored) .

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