Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) just released its second-quarter report and things are looking bullish. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile delivered a significant beat with revenue hitting US$2.5b and statutory EPS reaching US$2.31, both beating estimates by more than 10%. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile after the latest results.

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from 18 analysts is for revenues of US$7.77b in 2026. If met, it would imply a meaningful 15% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to jump 42% to US$6.90. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$7.98b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.58 in 2026. So it's pretty clear that while sentiment around revenues has declined following the latest results, the analysts are now more bullish on the company's earnings power.

There's been no real change to the average price target of US$84.95, with the lower revenue and higher earnings forecasts not expected to meaningfully impact the company's valuation over a longer timeframe. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile analyst has a price target of US$110 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$44.35. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. For example, we noticed that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 33% growth to the end of 2026 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 0.2% a year over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 4.8% annually. Not only are Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile's revenues expected to improve, it seems that the analysts are also expecting it 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 Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile following these results. They also downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile's revenue estimates, but industry data suggests that it is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. Even so, earnings are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. The consensus price target held steady at US$84.95, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You can also view our analysis of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile's balance sheet, and whether we think Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile is carrying too much debt, for 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.