The investors in Clear Secure, Inc.'s (NYSE:YOU) will be rubbing their hands together with glee today, after the share price leapt 23% to US$25.54 in the week following its quarterly results. Revenues were US$187m, approximately in line with whatthe analysts expected, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) crushed expectations, coming in at US$0.26, an impressive 46% ahead of estimates. 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.

Following the latest results, Clear Secure's eight analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$760.5m in 2024. This would be a meaningful 9.1% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to bounce 20% to US$0.93. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$750.4m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.75 in 2024. Although the revenue estimates have not really changed, we can see there's been a very substantial lift in earnings per share expectations, suggesting that the analysts have become more bullish after the latest result.

The analysts have been lifting their price targets on the back of the earnings upgrade, with the consensus price target rising 12% to US$27.38. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Clear Secure, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$40.00 and the most bearish at US$18.00 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

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 Clear Secure's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 19% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 39% over the past three years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 12% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while Clear Secure's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the industry itself.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Clear Secure's earnings potential next year. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts 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. We have forecasts for Clear Secure going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Clear Secure is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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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.