One of the biggest stories of last week was how Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (NASDAQ:SHEN) shares plunged 23% in the week since its latest second-quarter results, closing yesterday at US$15.27. Revenues came in at US$86m, in line with estimates, while Shenandoah Telecommunications reported a statutory loss of US$0.24 per share, well short of prior analyst forecasts for a profit. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what expert is forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimate to see what could be in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Shenandoah Telecommunications

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Shenandoah Telecommunications' sole analyst is for revenues of US$335.8m in 2024. This would reflect a decent 8.8% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Earnings are expected to improve, with Shenandoah Telecommunications forecast to report a statutory profit of US$4.26 per share. In the lead-up to this report, the analyst had been modelling revenues of US$348.7m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.07 in 2024. While revenue forecasts have been revised downwards, the analyst looks to have become more optimistic on the company's cost base, given the great increase in to the earnings per share numbers.

There's been a 18% lift in the price target to US$26.00, with the analyst signalling that the higher earnings forecasts are more relevant to the business than the weaker revenue estimates.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. The analyst is definitely expecting Shenandoah Telecommunications' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 18% annualised growth to the end of 2024 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 3.0% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 2.9% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Shenandoah Telecommunications is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Shenandoah Telecommunications' earnings potential next year. They also downgraded Shenandoah Telecommunications' revenue estimates, but industry data suggests that it is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. Even so, earnings are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analyst believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

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. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2025, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

That said, it's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Shenandoah Telecommunications (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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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.