Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) just released its third-quarter report and things are looking bullish. The company beat forecasts, with revenue of US$185m, some 2.3% above estimates, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) coming in at US$0.36, 29% ahead of expectations. 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, Veeco Instruments' six analysts currently expect revenues in 2025 to be US$718.5m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to nosedive 25% to US$1.06 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$782.3m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.46 in 2025. From this we can that sentiment has definitely become more bearish after the latest results, leading to lower revenue forecasts and a pretty serious reduction to earnings per share estimates.

It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 15% to US$35.57. 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 Veeco Instruments at US$40.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$30.00. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Veeco Instruments is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

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 pretty clear that there is an expectation that Veeco Instruments' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 1.1% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 12% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 19% 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 Veeco Instruments.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Veeco Instruments. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Veeco Instruments going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks.

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.