MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) 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 3.5% to hit US$1.2b. MKS reported statutory earnings per share (EPS) US$2.41, which was a notable 15% above what the analysts had forecast. 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 MKS after the latest results.

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from MKS' 13 analysts is for revenues of US$5.08b in 2026. This reflects a decent 17% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to shoot up 45% to US$9.43. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$4.82b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$8.12 in 2026. There's been a pretty noticeable increase in sentiment, with the analysts upgrading revenues and making a substantial gain in earnings per share in particular.

Althoughthe analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$414, suggesting that the forecast performance does not have a long term impact on the company's valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on MKS, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$600 and the most bearish at US$270 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

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. The analysts are definitely expecting MKS' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 37% annualised growth to the end of 2026 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 6.9% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 25% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that MKS is expected to grow much faster than its 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 MKS following these results. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting them 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.

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 MKS analysts - going out to 2028, 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.