Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) last week reported its latest first-quarter results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. Revenues were US$48m, with Cipher Mining reporting some 4.8% below analyst expectations. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Cipher Mining from six analysts is for revenues of US$161.8m in 2024. If met, it would imply a reasonable 5.7% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. The company is forecast to report a statutory loss of US$0.083 in 2024, a sharp decline from a profit over the last year. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$164.3m and US$0.13 per share in losses. Although the revenue estimates have not really changed Cipher Mining'sfuture looks a little different to the past, with a very promising decrease in the loss per share forecasts in particular.

The average price target held steady at US$5.92, seeming to indicate that business is performing in line with expectations. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Cipher Mining analyst has a price target of US$8.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$5.00. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that Cipher Mining's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 7.7% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 514% growth over the last year. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 13% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Cipher Mining.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that the analysts made no changes to their forecasts for a loss next year. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Cipher Mining's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$5.92, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Cipher Mining analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Before you take the next step you should know about the 3 warning signs for Cipher Mining (2 are concerning!) that we have uncovered.

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