The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. The company beat expectations with revenues of US$7.1b arriving 2.5% ahead of forecasts. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) were US$1.54, 3.4% 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. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

Following the latest results, Charles Schwab's 16 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$28.2b in 2026. This would be a solid 8.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to climb 11% to US$6.22. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$27.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.03 in 2026. So there seems to have been a moderate uplift in sentiment following the latest results, given the upgrades to both revenue and earnings per share forecasts for next year.

Despite these upgrades,the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of US$124, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth. 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. The most optimistic Charles Schwab analyst has a price target of US$145 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$86.00. 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. The analysts are definitely expecting Charles Schwab's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 18% annualised growth to the end of 2026 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 6.1% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.9% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Charles Schwab to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Charles Schwab's earnings potential next year. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting them to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Charles Schwab. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Charles Schwab going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.

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.