Investors in Unicharm Corporation (TSE:8113) had a good week, as its shares rose 6.1% to close at JP¥1,090 following the release of its quarterly results. Unicharm reported JP¥242b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of JP¥9.13 beat expectations, being 3.0% 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 gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.
Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Unicharm’s 14 analysts is for revenues of JP¥1.05t in 2027. This reflects an okay 7.4% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to surge 40% to JP¥49.85. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of JP¥1.06t and earnings per share (EPS) of JP¥50.01 in 2027. The consensus analysts don’t seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there’s been no major change to their estimates.
View our latest analysis for Unicharm
The analysts reconfirmed their price target of JP¥1,121, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Unicharm at JP¥1,450 per share, while the most bearish prices it at JP¥980. 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. It’s clear from the latest estimates that Unicharm’s rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 5.8% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2027 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 4.1% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.2% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it’s pretty clear that Unicharm is expected to grow much faster than its 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 major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have forecasts for Unicharm going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.
You can also see our analysis of Unicharm’s Board and CEO remuneration and experience, and whether company insiders have been buying stock.
New: AI Stock Screener & Alerts
Our new AI Stock Screener scans the market every day to uncover opportunities.
• Dividend Powerhouses (3%+ Yield)
• Undervalued Small Caps with Insider Buying
• High growth Tech and AI Companies
Or build your own from over 50 metrics.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
