Last week, you might have seen that Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) released its second-quarter result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 6.2% to US$23.57 in the past week. Sales of US$563m surpassed estimates by 6.6%, although statutory earnings per share missed badly, coming in 22% below expectations at US$0.50 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Deluxe

Taking into account the latest results, Deluxe's dual analysts currently expect revenues in 2022 to be US$2.19b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 88% to US$2.53. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$2.19b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.53 in 2022. 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 consensus price target fell 22% to US$37.50, suggesting that the analysts might have been a bit enthusiastic in their previous valuation - or they were expecting the company to provide stronger guidance in the quarterly results.

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. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 2.4% by the end of 2022. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 0.3% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 7.2% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Deluxe is expected to lag the wider 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, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - although our data does suggest that Deluxe's revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2024, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Deluxe (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) .

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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.