It's been a mediocre week for CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) shareholders, with the stock dropping 12% to US$139 in the week since its latest quarterly results. Statutory earnings per share of US$1.69 unfortunately missed expectations by 15%, although it was encouraging to see revenues of US$201m exceed expectations by 3.7%. 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.

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from CRA International's three analysts is for revenues of US$795.3m in 2026. This would reflect a satisfactory 3.2% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to grow 12% to US$8.26. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$794.5m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$8.36 in 2026. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$253, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. There are some variant perceptions on CRA International, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$260 and the most bearish at US$245 per share. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that CRA International is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that CRA International's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2026 expected to display 4.3% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 7.0% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 6.6% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that CRA International is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$253, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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 estimates - from multiple CRA International analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks.

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.