It's been a good week for Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest full-year results, and the shares gained 5.1% to US$286. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of US$8.3b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 3.5% to hit US$8.28 per share. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Rockwell Automation after the latest results.

Following last week's earnings report, Rockwell Automation's 25 analysts are forecasting 2025 revenues to be US$8.30b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to increase 3.7% to US$8.71. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$8.50b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$10.15 in 2025. The analysts seem less optimistic after the recent results, reducing their revenue forecasts and making a real cut to earnings per share numbers.

Despite the cuts to forecast earnings, there was no real change to the US$283 price target, showing that the analysts don't think the changes have a meaningful impact on its intrinsic value. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Rockwell Automation, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$345 and the most bearish at US$215 per share. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

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. We would highlight that Rockwell Automation's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 0.4% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 7.7% p.a. growth over the last five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 8.8% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Rockwell Automation is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$283, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have forecasts for Rockwell Automation going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

That said, it's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Rockwell Automation , and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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