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Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) last week reported its latest second-quarter results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. Revenues came in 2.1% below expectations, at US$1.2b. Statutory earnings per share were relatively better off, with a per-share profit of US$1.48 being roughly in line with analyst estimates. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for Landstar System
Following last week's earnings report, Landstar System's 13 analysts are forecasting 2024 revenues to be US$4.89b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to reduce 5.3% to US$5.86 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$5.07b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.18 in 2024. The analysts are less bullish than they were before these results, given the reduced revenue forecasts and the small dip in earnings per share expectations.
The analysts made no major changes to their price target of US$177, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on Landstar System's valuation. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Landstar System, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$198 and the most bearish at US$145 per share. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Landstar System shareholders.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Landstar System's past performance and to peers in the same industry. These estimates imply that revenue is expected to slow, with a forecast annualised decline of 0.6% by the end of 2024. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 8.8% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 7.7% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Landstar System is expected to lag the wider industry.