As you might know, Markforged Holding Corporation (NYSE:MKFG) just kicked off its latest annual results with some very strong numbers. Markforged Holding beat expectations with revenues of US$94m arriving 2.9% ahead of forecasts. The company also reported a statutory loss of US$0.53, 3.6% smaller than was expected. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Markforged Holding's four analysts is for revenues of US$97.6m in 2024. This reflects a credible 4.1% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 42% to US$0.30. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$95.2m and US$0.32 per share in losses. So there seems to have been a moderate uplift in analyst sentiment with the latest consensus release, given the upgrades to both revenue and loss per share forecasts for this year.

Yet despite these upgrades, the analysts cut their price target 34% to US$1.32, implicitly signalling that the ongoing losses are likely to weigh negatively on Markforged Holding's valuation. 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. The most optimistic Markforged Holding analyst has a price target of US$1.50 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$1.00. 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.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that Markforged Holding's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 4.1% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 10% p.a. growth over the last three years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 3.4% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Markforged Holding's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. They also upgraded their revenue forecasts, although the latest estimates suggest that Markforged Holding will grow in line with the overall industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Markforged Holding's future valuation.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Markforged Holding analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

And what about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Markforged Holding you should know about.

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