Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) last week reported its latest quarterly results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. Duke Energy reported US$8.2b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.76 beat expectations, being 8.6% higher than what the analysts expected. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Duke Energy's twelve analysts is for revenues of US$31.5b in 2025. This would reflect a satisfactory 3.1% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to rise 5.6% to US$6.31. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$31.5b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.31 in 2025. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.
View our latest analysis for Duke Energy
There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$127, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Duke Energy analyst has a price target of US$142 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$117. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Duke Energy is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Duke Energy's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that Duke Energy's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 4.2% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 5.9% p.a. growth over the last five years. Compare this to the 32 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.7% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while Duke Energy's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$127, 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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Duke Energy going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..
However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Duke Energy (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.