Investors in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) had a good week, as its shares rose 8.2% to close at US$29.10 following the release of its first-quarter results. The results were positive, with revenue coming in at CN¥1.6b, beating analyst expectations by 2.3%. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Autohome after the latest results.

Check out our latest analysis for Autohome

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Autohome from 16 analysts is for revenues of CN¥7.47b in 2024. If met, it would imply a credible 2.9% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to shrink 3.2% to CN¥14.93 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of CN¥7.47b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥14.74 in 2024. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$32.30. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Autohome, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$43.00 and the most bearish at US$27.00 per share. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Autohome shareholders.

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. For example, we noticed that Autohome's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 3.9% growth to the end of 2024 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 4.2% a year over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 10% per year. So although Autohome's revenue growth is expected to improve, it is still expected to grow slower than the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than 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.

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 Autohome going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Autohome that you should be aware of.

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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.