The analysts might have been a bit too bullish on nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT), given that the company fell short of expectations when it released its quarterly results last week. It looks like a clear earnings miss, with both revenues and earnings falling well short of analyst predictions. Revenues of US$782m missed by 17%, and statutory earnings per share of US$0.62 fell short of forecasts by 11%. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

After the latest results, the eleven analysts covering nVent Electric are now predicting revenues of US$3.77b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a credible 6.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to reduce 9.4% to US$3.17 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$3.96b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.17 in 2025. So it looks like the analysts have become a bit less optimistic after the latest results announcement, with revenues expected to fall even as the company is supposed to maintain EPS.

The consensus has reconfirmed its price target of US$81.08, showing that the analysts don't expect weaker revenue expectations next year to have a material impact on nVent Electric's market value. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. There are some variant perceptions on nVent Electric, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$91.62 and the most bearish at US$60.00 per share. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that nVent Electric's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 5.2% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 11% 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 8.4% 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 nVent Electric.

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. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. Even so, long term profitability is more important for the value creation process. The consensus price target held steady at US$81.08, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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 nVent Electric 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 nVent Electric .

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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.