Last week, you might have seen that AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) released its full-year result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 3.7% to US$32.02 in the past week. Revenues of US$5.8b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at US$2.33, missing estimates by 3.4%. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for AngloGold Ashanti

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from AngloGold Ashanti's six analysts is for revenues of US$8.33b in 2025. This reflects a huge 44% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to soar 88% to US$3.75. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$7.92b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.45 in 2025. While next year's revenue estimates increased, there was also a real cut to EPS expectations, suggesting the consensus has a bit of a mixed view of these results.

The consensus price target was unchanged at US$33.40, suggesting the business is performing roughly in line with expectations, despite some adjustments to profit and revenue forecasts. 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 AngloGold Ashanti at US$40.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$24.00. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. The analysts are definitely expecting AngloGold Ashanti's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 44% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 6.1% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.6% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that AngloGold Ashanti 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. Pleasantly, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$33.40, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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 AngloGold Ashanti going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for AngloGold Ashanti that we have uncovered.

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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.