The yearly results for MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (ETR:MRK) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. Revenues of €22b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at €7.65, missing estimates by 9.3%. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien's 14 analysts is for revenues of €22.8b in 2023, which would reflect a modest 2.5% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of €22.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of €8.69 in 2023. Overall, while the analysts have reconfirmed their revenue estimates, the consensus now no longer provides an EPS estimate, suggesting that the market believes revenue is more important after these latest results.

There's been no real change to the consensus price target of €209, with MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien seemingly executing in line with expectations. 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 MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien analyst has a price target of €250 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €158. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 2.5% annualised growth rate until the end of 2023 being well below the historical 9.2% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 3.4% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien.

The Bottom Line

The clear take away from these updates is that the analysts made no change to their revenue estimates for next year, with the business apparently performing in line with their models. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply revenues will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at €209, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

We have estimates for MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien from its 14 analysts out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You can also see whether MERCK Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien is carrying too much debt, and whether its balance sheet is healthy, for free on our platform here.

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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.

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