Shareholders of Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 16% to US$25.04 following its latest quarterly results. It looks like a pretty bad result, all things considered. Although revenues of US$114m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings fell badly short, missing estimates by 51% to hit US$0.04 per share. 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.

View our latest analysis for Bowman Consulting Group

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Bowman Consulting Group's five analysts is for revenues of US$475.1m in 2025. This reflects a solid 17% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Bowman Consulting Group is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$0.32 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$472.1m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.27 in 2025. There was no real change to the revenue estimates, but the analysts do seem more bullish on earnings, given the nice gain to earnings per share expectations following these results.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$35.92, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Bowman Consulting Group at US$43.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$29.00. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Bowman Consulting Group's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 13% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 31% over the past five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 8.6% per year. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Bowman Consulting Group is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Bowman Consulting Group following these results. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$35.92, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Bowman Consulting Group analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Bowman Consulting Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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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.