BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) just released its quarterly report and things are looking bullish. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 4.8% to hit US$6.2b. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings reported statutory earnings per share (EPS) US$1.36, which was a notable 16% above what the analysts had forecast. 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, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings' 21 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$23.9b in 2027. This would be a reasonable 4.9% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory per share are forecast to be US$4.70, approximately in line with the last 12 months. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$23.5b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.52 in 2027. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$106, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$120 and the most bearish at US$79.00 per share. 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.

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. It's clear from the latest estimates that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 10.0% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2027 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 5.9% p.a. 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 5.1% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings to grow faster than 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 BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings following these results. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected 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 BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings going out to 2029, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings .

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.