Investors in Pactiv Evergreen Inc. (NASDAQ:PTVE) had a good week, as its shares rose 4.5% to close at US$12.29 following the release of its third-quarter results. Revenues fell 3.0% short of expectations, at US$1.3b. Earnings correspondingly dipped, with Pactiv Evergreen reporting a statutory loss of US$1.18 per share, whereas the analysts had previously modelled a profit in this period. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Pactiv Evergreen after the latest results.

Check out our latest analysis for Pactiv Evergreen

Taking into account the latest results, Pactiv Evergreen's six analysts currently expect revenues in 2025 to be US$5.27b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Earnings are expected to improve, with Pactiv Evergreen forecast to report a statutory profit of US$1.08 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$5.24b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.18 in 2025. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a small dip in their earnings per share forecasts.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$14.50, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic Pactiv Evergreen analyst has a price target of US$17.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$12.00. 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 Pactiv Evergreen shareholders.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Pactiv Evergreen's past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Pactiv Evergreen's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 1.1% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 4.8% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.6% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Pactiv Evergreen is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have forecasts for Pactiv Evergreen going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Pactiv Evergreen that you should be aware of.

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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.