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One thing we could say about the analysts on Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) - they aren't optimistic, having just made a major negative revision to their near-term (statutory) forecasts for the organization. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates were cut sharply as analysts factored in the latest outlook for the business, concluding that they were too optimistic previously.
Following the latest downgrade, the current consensus, from the five analysts covering Kulicke and Soffa Industries, is for revenues of US$1.1b in 2023, which would reflect a disturbing 34% reduction in Kulicke and Soffa Industries' sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to tumble 58% to US$3.67 in the same period. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.4b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.28 in 2023. Indeed, we can see that the analysts are a lot more bearish about Kulicke and Soffa Industries' prospects, administering a pretty serious reduction to revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot.
See our latest analysis for Kulicke and Soffa Industries
It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 18% to US$58.75. 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 Kulicke and Soffa Industries at US$70.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$50.00. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.
Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 29% by the end of 2023. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 17% 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 8.8% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Kulicke and Soffa Industries is expected to lag the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. Unfortunately analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, and industry data suggests that Kulicke and Soffa Industries' revenues are expected to grow slower than the wider market. With a serious cut to next year's expectations and a falling price target, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were becoming wary of Kulicke and Soffa Industries.