It's been a good week for NV5 Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVEE) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest first-quarter results, and the shares gained 2.6% to US$96.26. It looks like a pretty bad result, all things considered. Although revenues of US$213m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings fell badly short, missing estimates by 87% to hit US$0.03 per share. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

View our latest analysis for NV5 Global

Following the latest results, NV5 Global's eight analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$938.4m in 2024. This would be an okay 5.3% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to step up 16% to US$2.82. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$931.6m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.85 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.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$125, showing that the business is executing well and 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 NV5 Global analyst has a price target of US$165 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$105. 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 NV5 Global shareholders.

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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that NV5 Global's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 7.2% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 12% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.7% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while NV5 Global'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 there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster 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.

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 NV5 Global analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 2 warning signs for NV5 Global 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.