Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) last week reported its latest yearly results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. It was an okay result overall, with revenues coming in at US$260m, roughly what the analysts had been expecting. 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 gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Golar LNG

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Golar LNG's five analysts is for revenues of US$428.0m in 2025. This reflects a huge 64% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to surge 264% to US$1.73. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$450.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.55 in 2025. While revenue forecasts have been revised downwards, the analysts look to have become more optimistic on the company's cost base, given the nice increase in to the earnings per share numbers.

There's been no real change to the average price target of US$46.50, with the lower revenue and higher earnings forecasts not expected to meaningfully impact the company's valuation over a longer timeframe. 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 Golar LNG at US$56.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$41.00. 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.

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. For example, we noticed that Golar LNG's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 64% growth to the end of 2025 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 11% a year over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 4.1% annually. So it looks like Golar LNG is expected to grow faster than its competitors, at least for a while.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Golar LNG following these results. They also downgraded Golar LNG's revenue estimates, but industry data suggests that it is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. Even so, long term profitability is more important for the value creation process. The consensus price target held steady at US$46.50, 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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Golar LNG going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that Golar LNG is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

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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.