Yahoo Finance Axon Enterprise, Inc. Just Beat Analyst Forecasts, And Analysts Have Been Updating Their Predictions
Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXON) just released its latest quarterly results and things are looking bullish. The company beat forecasts, with revenue of US$461m, some 4.3% above estimates, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) coming in at US$1.73, 283% ahead of expectations. 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.
See our latest analysis for Axon Enterprise
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Axon Enterprise's twelve analysts is for revenues of US$1.98b in 2024. This would reflect a solid 18% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 9.4% to US$3.80. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$1.93b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.57 in 2024. There's been a pretty noticeable increase in sentiment, with the analysts upgrading revenues and making a sizeable expansion in earnings per share in particular.
It will come as no surprise to learn that the analysts have increased their price target for Axon Enterprise 11% to US$358on the back of these upgrades. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Axon Enterprise, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$400 and the most bearish at US$254 per share. 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.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Axon Enterprise's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Axon Enterprise'shistorical trends, as the 24% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 is roughly in line with the 27% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 2.3% annually. So it's pretty clear that Axon Enterprise is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.
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 Axon Enterprise following these results. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting them 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 in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Axon Enterprise. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have estimates - from multiple Axon Enterprise analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.
It is also worth noting that we have found 1 warning sign for Axon Enterprise that you need to take into consideration.
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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.
