It's been a good week for SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest full-year results, and the shares gained 6.0% to US$121. SkyWest reported US$3.5b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$7.77 beat expectations, being 8.3% higher than what the analysts expected. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for SkyWest

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from SkyWest's five analysts is for revenues of US$3.86b in 2025. This reflects a decent 9.4% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to climb 12% to US$9.01. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$3.82b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$8.43 in 2025. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

The analysts have been lifting their price targets on the back of the earnings upgrade, with the consensus price target rising 9.3% to US$129. 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. The most optimistic SkyWest analyst has a price target of US$150 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$100.00. 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.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the SkyWest's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting SkyWest's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 9.4% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 6.1% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 7.7% annually. SkyWest is expected to grow at about the same rate as its industry, so it's not clear that we can draw any conclusions from its growth relative to competitors.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around SkyWest's earnings potential next year. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

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 SkyWest analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

And what about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for SkyWest 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.