It's been a mediocre week for JBT Marel Corporation (NYSE:JBTM) shareholders, with the stock dropping 14% to US$122 in the week since its latest second-quarter results. It looks like a pretty bad result, all things considered. Although revenues of US$981m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings fell badly short, missing estimates by 51% to hit US$0.54 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 JBT Marel after the latest results.

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from JBT Marel's six analysts is for revenues of US$4.02b in 2026. This would reflect a reasonable 2.4% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to bounce 20% to US$4.46. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$4.03b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.91 in 2026. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a small dip in their earnings per share forecasts.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$176, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. 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. The most optimistic JBT Marel analyst has a price target of US$210 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$118. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the JBT Marel's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that JBT Marel's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 4.9% annualised growth rate until the end of 2026 being well below the historical 19% 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 7.0% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than JBT Marel.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for JBT Marel. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that JBT Marel's revenue is expected to perform worse 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.

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 JBT Marel going out to 2027, 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.