Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NYSE:EXPD) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 6.4% to hit US$2.8b. Expeditors International of Washington also reported a statutory profit of US$1.71, which was an impressive 28% 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 thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

Following the latest results, Expeditors International of Washington's 14 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$11.6b in 2026. This would be a reasonable 3.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to accumulate 6.0% to US$6.72. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$11.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.06 in 2026. So it seems there's been a definite increase in optimism about Expeditors International of Washington's future following the latest results, with a substantial gain in the earnings per share forecasts in particular.

Althoughthe analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$146, suggesting that the forecast performance does not have a long term impact on the company's valuation. 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 Expeditors International of Washington, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$181 and the most bearish at US$95.00 per share. 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.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. For example, we noticed that Expeditors International of Washington's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 4.7% growth to the end of 2026 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 9.2% 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 4.5% annually. So it looks like Expeditors International of Washington is expected to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Expeditors International of Washington's earnings potential next year. There was also an upgrade to revenue estimates, although as we saw earlier, forecast growth is only expected to be about the same as 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 estimates - from multiple Expeditors International of Washington analysts - going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You should always think about risks though.

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.