Last week, you might have seen that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) released its third-quarter result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 6.5% to US$155 in the past week. Revenues of US$2.3b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at US$1.14, missing estimates by 5.4%. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

After the latest results, the 13 analysts covering Intercontinental Exchange are now predicting revenues of US$9.87b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a satisfactory 7.7% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to jump 26% to US$5.35. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$9.90b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.42 in 2025. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$180. 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 Intercontinental Exchange at US$200 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$148. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Intercontinental Exchange is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Intercontinental Exchange's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 6.1% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 10% over the past five years. Compare this to the 284 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 6.0% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it looks like Intercontinental Exchange is forecast to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall 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.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Intercontinental Exchange going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

That said, it's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Intercontinental Exchange (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.