Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 2.7% to US$175 in the week after its latest annual results. Universal Health Services reported US$16b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$16.82 beat expectations, being 4.9% higher than what the analysts expected. 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. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Universal Health Services

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Universal Health Services' 16 analysts is for revenues of US$17.0b in 2025. This would reflect a credible 7.3% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to rise 8.4% to US$19.05. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$16.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$17.92 in 2025. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$231, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Universal Health Services analyst has a price target of US$280 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$176. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

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 period to the end of 2025 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 7.3% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 6.9% annual growth over the past five years. Juxtapose this against our data, which suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 7.1% per year. It's clear that while Universal Health Services' revenue growth is expected to continue on its current trajectory, it's only expected to grow in line with the industry itself.

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 Universal Health Services following these results. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

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 Universal Health Services analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Universal Health Services is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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