Cohort plc (LON:CHRT) defied analyst predictions to release its annual results, which were ahead of market expectations. The company beat forecasts, with revenue of UK￡203m, some 8.4% above estimates, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) coming in at UK￡0.38, 32% ahead of expectations. 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. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for Cohort

Following the latest results, Cohort's three analysts are now forecasting revenues of UK￡220.0m in 2025. This would be a meaningful 8.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory per share are forecast to be UK￡0.38, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of UK￡200.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of UK￡0.36 in 2025. So there seems to have been a moderate uplift in sentiment following the latest results, given the upgrades to both revenue and earnings per share forecasts for next year.

It will come as no surprise to learn that the analysts have increased their price target for Cohort 24% to UK￡9.80on the back of these upgrades. 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. The most optimistic Cohort analyst has a price target of UK￡10.50 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at UK￡9.10. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Cohort is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

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. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Cohort'shistorical trends, as the 8.6% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 10.0% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 8.5% annually. It's clear that while Cohort's revenue growth is expected to continue on its current trajectory, it's only expected to grow in line with the industry itself.