It's been a mediocre week for Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) shareholders, with the stock dropping 14% to US$58.40 in the week since its latest first-quarter results. Statutory earnings per share fell badly short of expectations, coming in at US$0.40, some 55% below analyst forecasts, although revenues were okay, approximately in line with analyst estimates at US$2.3b. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. 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, Celanese's 14 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$9.92b in 2026. This would be a reasonable 4.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Earnings are expected to improve, with Celanese forecast to report a statutory profit of US$5.45 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$9.86b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.31 in 2026. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Celanese's earnings potential following these results.

The analysts have been lifting their price targets on the back of the earnings upgrade, with the consensus price target rising 6.1% to US$74.13. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Celanese, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$95.00 and the most bearish at US$63.00 per share. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Celanese shareholders.

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 can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Celanese'shistorical trends, as the 6.1% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2026 is roughly in line with the 5.4% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 5.2% annually. So although Celanese is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's only growing at about the rate of the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Celanese following these results. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall 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.

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 Celanese 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.