Westrock Coffee Company (NASDAQ:WEST) missed earnings with its latest third-quarter results, disappointing overly-optimistic forecasters. It was a pretty negative result overall, with revenues of US$221m missing analyst predictions by 7.3%. Worse, the business reported a statutory loss of US$0.16 per share, much larger than the analysts had forecast prior to the result. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Westrock Coffee

After the latest results, the five analysts covering Westrock Coffee are now predicting revenues of US$1.08b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a substantial 29% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Westrock Coffee is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$0.17 per share. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.15b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.17 in 2025. The consensus seems maybe a little more pessimistic, trimming their revenue forecasts after the latest results even though there was no change to its EPS estimates.

It will come as no surprise then, that the consensus price target fell 6.6% to US$11.40following these changes. 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 Westrock Coffee analyst has a price target of US$13.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$10.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Westrock Coffee is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's clear from the latest estimates that Westrock Coffee's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 22% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 5.3% p.a. over the past three years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 2.8% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Westrock Coffee is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, but the latest forecasts still imply the business will grow faster than the wider industry. Even so, long term profitability is more important for the value creation process. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Westrock Coffee's future valuation.

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 forecasts for Westrock Coffee going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Westrock Coffee 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.