First Advantage Corporation (NASDAQ:FA) last week reported its latest second-quarter results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. Statutory earnings per share fell badly short of expectations, coming in at US$0.01, some 84% below analyst forecasts, although revenues were okay, approximately in line with analyst estimates at US$185m. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for First Advantage

After the latest results, the eight analysts covering First Advantage are now predicting revenues of US$775.6m in 2024. If met, this would reflect a credible 2.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 36% to US$0.23. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$776.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.28 in 2024. The analysts seem to have become more bearish following the latest results. While there were no changes to revenue forecasts, there was a substantial drop in EPS estimates.

The consensus price target held steady at US$19.60, with the analysts seemingly voting that their lower forecast earnings are not expected to lead to a lower stock price in the foreseeable future. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values First Advantage at US$21.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$18.00. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

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 First Advantage'shistorical trends, as the 5.0% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 is roughly in line with the 4.7% annual growth over the past three years. Compare this with the broader industry (in aggregate), which analyst estimates suggest will see revenues grow 6.1% annually. So it's pretty clear that First Advantage is expected to grow slower than similar companies in the same industry.