Today is shaping up negative for FTC Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTCI) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a substantial negative revision to this year's forecasts. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates were cut sharply as analysts factored in the latest outlook for the business, concluding that they were too optimistic previously.

After this downgrade, FTC Solar's seven analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$147m in 2024. This would be a notable 16% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 35% to US$0.26 per share. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$232m and losses of US$0.21 per share in 2024. So there's been quite a change-up of views after the recent consensus updates, with the analysts making a serious cut to their revenue forecasts while also expecting losses per share to increase.

The consensus price target fell 30% to US$0.91, with the analysts clearly concerned about the company following the weaker revenue and earnings outlook.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. One thing stands out from these estimates, which is that FTC Solar is forecast to grow faster in the future than it has in the past, with revenues expected to display 16% annualised growth until the end of 2024. If achieved, this would be a much better result than the 22% annual decline over the past three years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 8.2% annually. So it looks like FTC Solar is expected to grow faster than its competitors, at least for a while.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for this year. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. After such a stark change in sentiment from analysts, we'd understand if readers now felt a bit wary of FTC Solar.

Even so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. We have estimates - from multiple FTC Solar analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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.