Shareholders might have noticed that Solid Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDP) filed its quarterly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 5.5% to US$1.72 in the past week. Revenues of US$6.0m crushed expectations, although expenses also blew out, with the company reporting a statutory loss per share of US$0.12, 29% bigger than 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Solid Power

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Solid Power from five analysts is for revenues of US$22.2m in 2024. If met, it would imply a decent 13% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share losses are supposed to see a sharp uptick, reaching US$0.45. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$21.3m and US$0.43 per share in losses. Overall it looks as though the analysts were a bit mixed on the latest consensus updates. Although there was a nice uplift to revenue, the consensus also made a moderate increase in its losses per share forecasts.

The consensus price target stayed unchanged at US$3.63, seeming to suggest that higher forecast losses are not expected to have a long term impact on the valuation. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. There are some variant perceptions on Solid Power, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$5.00 and the most bearish at US$3.00 per share. 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.

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 would highlight that Solid Power's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 18% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 71% p.a. growth over the last three years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 11% annually. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Solid Power is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts increased their loss per share estimates for next year. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting them 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.

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 Solid Power 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 Solid Power (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you need to take into consideration.

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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.