Last week, you might have seen that Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) released its second-quarter result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 2.6% to US$65.90 in the past week. Statutory earnings per share fell badly short of expectations, coming in at US$0.70, some 24% below analyst forecasts, although revenues were okay, approximately in line with analyst estimates at US$3.2b. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Following last week's earnings report, Henry Schein's 15 analysts are forecasting 2025 revenues to be US$13.0b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to expand 12% to US$3.61. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$13.0b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.80 in 2025. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the minor downgrade to their earnings per share numbers for next year.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$72.23, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Henry Schein at US$83.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$55.00. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Henry Schein shareholders.

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. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Henry Schein'shistorical trends, as the 3.5% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 4.3% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 5.9% per year. So it's pretty clear that Henry Schein is expected to grow slower than similar companies in the same industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. 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$72.23, 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 forecasts for Henry Schein going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Henry Schein is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.