One thing we could say about the analysts on Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTY.A) - they aren't optimistic, having just made a major negative revision to their near-term (statutory) forecasts for the organization. Revenue estimates were cut sharply as analysts signalled a weaker outlook - perhaps a sign that investors should temper their expectations as well.

Following the latest downgrade, the eight analysts covering Liberty Global provided consensus estimates of US$11b revenue in 2021, which would reflect a considerable 13% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Before the latest update, the analysts were foreseeing US$15b of revenue in 2021. It looks like forecasts have become a fair bit less optimistic on Liberty Global, given the pretty serious reduction to revenue estimates.

View our latest analysis for Liberty Global

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. Over the past five years, revenues have declined around 8.9% annually. Worse, forecasts are essentially predicting the decline to accelerate, with the estimate for an annualised 17% decline in revenue until the end of 2021. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the broader industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to decline 0.6% annually. So it's pretty clear that Liberty Global sales are expected to decline at a faster rate than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The clear low-light was that analysts slashing their revenue forecasts for Liberty Global this year. They're also forecasting for revenues to shrink at a quicker rate than companies in the wider market. Overall, given the drastic downgrade to this year's forecasts, we'd be feeling a little more wary of Liberty Global going forwards.

Unanswered questions? We have estimates for Liberty Global from its eight analysts out until 2023, and you can see them 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.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.