Last week, you might have seen that Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:GILT) released its third-quarter result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 9.0% to US$5.03 in the past week. Revenues of US$75m fell slightly short of expectations, but earnings were a definite bright spot, with statutory per-share profits of US$0.12 an impressive 92% ahead of estimates. 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. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

See our latest analysis for Gilat Satellite Networks

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Gilat Satellite Networks' four analysts is for revenues of US$397.9m in 2025. This would reflect a huge 31% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 26% to US$0.36. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$403.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.35 in 2025. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

The consensus price target rose 13% to US$7.90, suggesting that higher earnings estimates flow through to the stock's valuation as well. 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 Gilat Satellite Networks at US$8.50 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$7.30. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Gilat Satellite Networks is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Gilat Satellite Networks' past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that Gilat Satellite Networks' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 24% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 6.1% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 8.2% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Gilat Satellite Networks is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Gilat Satellite Networks' earnings potential next year. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates - from multiple Gilat Satellite Networks analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

We also provide an overview of the Gilat Satellite Networks Board and CEO remuneration and length of tenure at the company, and whether insiders have been buying the stock, here.

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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.