CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) missed earnings with its latest first-quarter results, disappointing overly-optimistic forecasters. Results showed a clear earnings miss, with US$126m revenue coming in 7.0% lower than what the analystsexpected. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.04 missed the mark badly, arriving some 23% below what was expected. 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. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

After the latest results, the six analysts covering CECO Environmental are now predicting revenues of US$597.5m in 2024. If met, this would reflect a modest 7.0% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to bounce 96% to US$0.70. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$601.1m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.70 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$27.67, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic CECO Environmental analyst has a price target of US$30.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$26.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that CECO Environmental is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

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. The period to the end of 2024 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 9.4% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 10% 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 6.9% per year. So it's pretty clear that CECO Environmental is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple CECO Environmental analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for CECO Environmental that you need to take into consideration.

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