Shareholders might have noticed that ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI) filed its third-quarter result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 3.7% to US$172 in the past week. Revenues of US$589m beat expectations by a respectable 2.2%, although statutory losses per share increased. ICU Medical lost US$1.35, which was 87% more than what the analysts had included in their models. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on ICU Medical after the latest results.

Check out our latest analysis for ICU Medical

After the latest results, the seven analysts covering ICU Medical are now predicting revenues of US$2.40b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a satisfactory 2.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. The loss per share is expected to greatly reduce in the near future, narrowing 74% to US$1.20. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$2.41b and US$0.76 per share in losses. So it's pretty clear the analysts have mixed opinions on ICU Medical even after this update; although they reconfirmed their revenue numbers, it came at the cost of a massive increase in per-share losses.

Although the analysts are now forecasting higher losses, the average price target rose 14% to 173.83333, which could indicate that these losses are expected to be "one-off", or are not anticipated to have a longer-term impact on the business. 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 ICU Medical at US$225 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$178. The narrow spread of estimates could suggest that the business' future is relatively easy to value, or thatthe analysts have a strong view on its prospects.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that ICU Medical's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 2.0% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 16% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 8.2% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that ICU Medical is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts increased their loss per share estimates for next year. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse 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.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for ICU Medical going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that ICU Medical is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

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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.