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Earnings Miss: V.F. Corporation Missed EPS And Analysts Are Revising Their Forecasts

Simply Wall St ·  Feb 8 08:01

Shareholders might have noticed that V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) filed its quarterly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 7.0% to US$15.31 in the past week. Revenues fell 8.9% short of expectations, at US$3.0b. Earnings correspondingly dipped, with V.F reporting a statutory loss of US$0.11 per share, whereas the analysts had previously modelled a profit in this period. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

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NYSE:VFC Earnings and Revenue Growth February 8th 2024

Following last week's earnings report, V.F's 23 analysts are forecasting 2025 revenues to be US$10.7b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. V.F is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$1.74 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$11.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.83 in 2025. It's pretty clear that pessimism has reared its head after the latest results, leading to a weaker revenue outlook and a small dip in earnings per share estimates.

It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 6.1% to US$18.75. 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. The most optimistic V.F analyst has a price target of US$57.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$13.00. We would probably assign less value to the analyst forecasts in this situation, because such a wide range of estimates could imply that the future of this business is difficult to value accurately. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. These estimates imply that revenue is expected to slow, with a forecast annualised decline of 0.8% by the end of 2025. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 3.1% 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 7.0% annually for the foreseeable future. It's pretty clear that V.F's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of V.F's future valuation.

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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for V.F going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for V.F that you should be aware of.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.

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