Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:DFLI) missed earnings with its latest quarterly results, disappointing overly-optimistic forecasters. Revenues missed expectations somewhat, coming in at US$13m, but statutory earnings fell catastrophically short, with a loss of US$0.22 some 44% larger than what the analysts had predicted. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Dragonfly Energy Holdings' three analysts is for revenues of US$58.2m in 2024. This reflects a decent 12% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Losses are forecast to balloon 44% to US$0.73 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$65.6m and losses of US$0.55 per share in 2024. So there's been quite a change-up of views after the recent consensus updates, withthe analysts making a serious cut to their revenue outlook while also expecting losses per share to increase.

The average price target fell 6.5% to US$1.81, implicitly signalling that lower earnings per share are a leading indicator for Dragonfly Energy Holdings' valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Dragonfly Energy Holdings analyst has a price target of US$3.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$1.25. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. For example, we noticed that Dragonfly Energy Holdings' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 25% growth to the end of 2024 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 38% a year over the past year. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 8.0% per year. So it looks like Dragonfly Energy Holdings is expected to grow faster than its competitors, at least for a while.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to note is the forecast of increased losses next year, suggesting all may not be well at Dragonfly Energy Holdings. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, but the latest forecasts still imply the business will grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Dragonfly Energy Holdings' future valuation.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Dragonfly Energy Holdings. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Dragonfly Energy Holdings going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that Dragonfly Energy Holdings is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

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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.