Last week, you might have seen that Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ:BLNK) released its annual result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 8.5% to US$2.92 in the past week. Revenue of US$141m came in 6.5% ahead of expectations, although statutory earnings didn't fare nearly so well, recording a loss of US$3.21, a 16% miss. 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.

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Blink Charging from six analysts is for revenues of US$173.5m in 2024. If met, it would imply a sizeable 23% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 73% to US$0.60. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$168.6m and losses of US$0.96 per share in 2024. So it seems there's been a definite increase in optimism about Blink Charging's future following the latest consensus numbers, with a very favorable reduction to the loss per share forecasts in particular.

Yet despite these upgrades, the analysts cut their price target 16% to US$7.44, implicitly signalling that the ongoing losses are likely to weigh negatively on Blink Charging's valuation. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic Blink Charging analyst has a price target of US$25.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$3.00. With such a wide range in price targets, analysts are almost certainly betting on widely divergent outcomes in the underlying business. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the 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. We would highlight that Blink Charging's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 23% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 71% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 8.2% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Blink Charging's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the industry itself.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that the analysts made no changes to their forecasts for a loss next year. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting them to grow faster than the wider industry. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Blink Charging going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Plus, you should also learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Blink Charging (including 1 which is potentially serious) .

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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.