Shareholders of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 10% to US$82.29 following its latest annual results. Results were roughly in line with estimates, with revenues of US$13b and statutory earnings per share of US$9.46. 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 gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Unum Group

After the latest results, the nine analysts covering Unum Group are now predicting revenues of US$13.4b in 2025. If met, this would reflect an okay 4.2% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to sink 14% to US$8.69 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$13.5b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$8.78 in 2025. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$89.33, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Unum Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$107 and the most bearish at US$75.00 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 Unum Group shareholders.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. The analysts are definitely expecting Unum Group's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 4.2% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 0.4% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.2% per year. So it's clear that despite the acceleration in growth, Unum Group is expected to grow meaningfully slower than the industry average.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Unum Group's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$89.33, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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 estimates - from multiple Unum Group analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Unum Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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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.