The investors in Herbalife Ltd.'s (NYSE:HLF) will be rubbing their hands together with glee today, after the share price leapt 48% to US$8.31 in the week following its annual results. Revenues were US$5.0b, approximately in line with whatthe analysts expected, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) crushed expectations, coming in at US$2.50, an impressive 188% 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for Herbalife
Taking into account the latest results, Herbalife's four analysts currently expect revenues in 2025 to be US$5.06b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to nosedive 27% to US$1.84 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$5.06b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.84 in 2025. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.
The consensus price target fell 11% to US$8.63, suggesting that the analysts might have been a bit enthusiastic in their previous valuation - or they were expecting the company to provide stronger guidance in the annual results. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Herbalife at US$13.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$7.00. 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.
One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. From these estimates it looks as though the analysts expect the years of declining revenue to come to an end, given the flat forecast out to 2025. That would be a definite improvement, given that the past five years have seen revenue shrink 1.5% annually. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 3.6% per year. Although Herbalife's revenues are expected to improve, it seems that it is still expected to grow slower than the wider industry.
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. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Herbalife's future valuation.
With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Herbalife. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have estimates - from multiple Herbalife analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.
However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 5 warning signs for Herbalife (3 are concerning!) that you should be aware of.
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