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Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) came out with its annual results last week, and we wanted to see how the business is performing and what industry forecasters think of the company following this report. Revenues were in line with forecasts, at CA$61b, although statutory earnings per share came in 11% below what the analysts expected, at CA$6.99 per share. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for Loblaw Companies
Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Loblaw Companies from eight analysts is for revenues of CA$64.3b in 2025. If met, it would imply a reasonable 5.3% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to soar 30% to CA$9.30. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of CA$63.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of CA$8.71 in 2025. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Loblaw Companies' earnings potential following these results.
There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of CA$192, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock'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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Loblaw Companies at CA$215 per share, while the most bearish prices it at CA$135. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.
Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Loblaw Companies'historical trends, as the 5.3% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 4.6% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 2.4% annually. So although Loblaw Companies is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.