The latest analyst coverage could presage a bad day for RWE Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:RWE), with the analysts making across-the-board cuts to their statutory estimates that might leave shareholders a little shell-shocked. Revenue estimates were cut sharply as the analysts signalled a weaker outlook - perhaps a sign that investors should temper their expectations as well.

Following the downgrade, the consensus from 15 analysts covering RWE is for revenues of €27b in 2024, implying a painful 22% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. Prior to the latest estimates, the analysts were forecasting revenues of €30b in 2024. It looks like forecasts have become a fair bit less optimistic on RWE, given the measurable cut to revenue estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for RWE

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the RWE's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with a forecast 22% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 28% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 7.4% per year. It's pretty clear that RWE's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their revenue estimates for this year. They're also anticipating slower revenue growth than the wider market. Overall, given the drastic downgrade to this year's forecasts, we'd be feeling a little more wary of RWE going forwards.

So things certainly aren't looking great, and you should also know that we've spotted some potential warning signs with RWE, including its declining profit margins. Learn more, and discover the 2 other warning signs we've identified, for free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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.