It's shaping up to be a tough period for IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX), which a week ago released some disappointing yearly results that could have a notable impact on how the market views the stock. Results showed a clear earnings miss, with US$352m revenue coming in 2.9% lower than what the analystsexpected. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.48 missed the mark badly, arriving some 21% below what was expected. 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. 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 IMAX

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for IMAX from nine analysts is for revenues of US$406.0m in 2025. If met, it would imply a meaningful 15% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to shoot up 90% to US$0.93. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$414.1m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.97 in 2025. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the minor downgrade to their earnings per share numbers for next year.

Althoughthe analysts have revised their earnings forecasts for next year, they've also lifted the consensus price target 7.6% to US$29.70, suggesting the revised estimates are not indicative of a weaker long-term future for the business. 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 IMAX, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$35.00 and the most bearish at US$16.00 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

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 clear from the latest estimates that IMAX's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 15% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 9.4% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 9.4% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that IMAX is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple IMAX analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with IMAX .

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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.