It's been a good week for WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest first-quarter results, and the shares gained 8.9% to US$27.30. Revenues were in line with forecasts, at US$560m, although statutory earnings per share came in 17% below what the analysts expected, at US$0.23 per share. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

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Taking into account the latest results, WillScot Holdings' ten analysts currently expect revenues in 2025 to be US$2.38b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to jump 1,827% to US$1.58. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$2.38b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.62 in 2025. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the minor downgrade to their earnings per share numbers for next year.

View our latest analysis for WillScot Holdings

The average price target fell 6.4% to US$36.85, with reduced earnings forecasts clearly tied to a lower valuation estimate. 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 WillScot Holdings analyst has a price target of US$47.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$28.00. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that WillScot Holdings' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 0.8% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 15% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 7.6% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than WillScot Holdings.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of WillScot Holdings' future valuation.

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. We have estimates - from multiple WillScot Holdings analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Before you take the next step you should know about the 3 warning signs for WillScot Holdings (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that we have uncovered.

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