It's been a mediocre week for J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) shareholders, with the stock dropping 11% to US$122 in the week since its latest quarterly results. Statutory earnings per share fell badly short of expectations, coming in at US$0.26, some 53% below analyst forecasts, although revenues were okay, approximately in line with analyst estimates at US$363m. 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 collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for J&J Snack Foods

After the latest results, the five analysts covering J&J Snack Foods are now predicting revenues of US$1.63b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a reasonable 2.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to increase 9.4% to US$4.74. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$1.63b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.43 in 2025. The analysts seem to have become more bearish following the latest results. While there were no changes to revenue forecasts, there was a substantial drop in EPS estimates.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target fell 8.4% to US$172, with the analysts clearly linking lower forecast earnings to the performance of the stock price. 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 J&J Snack Foods at US$175 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$161. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that J&J Snack Foods' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 3.5% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 9.9% over the past five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 2.4% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while J&J Snack Foods' revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the industry itself.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for J&J Snack Foods. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for J&J Snack Foods going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

We also provide an overview of the J&J Snack Foods 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.