Investors in Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) had a good week, as its shares rose 6.7% to close at US$46.59 following the release of its quarterly results. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of US$371m were in line with what the analysts predicted, Bentley Systems surprised by delivering a statutory profit of US$0.28 per share, a notable 15% above expectations. 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.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

After the latest results, the 16 analysts covering Bentley Systems are now predicting revenues of US$1.49b in 2025. If met, this would reflect an okay 7.2% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to grow 20% to US$0.97. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.48b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.91 in 2025. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for Bentley Systems

The consensus price target was unchanged at US$51.40, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Bentley Systems at US$61.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$42.00. 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.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Bentley Systems' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 9.8% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 12% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 12% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Bentley Systems is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.