Shareholders in Paysafe Limited (NYSE:PSFE) had a terrible week, as shares crashed 28% to US$17.67 in the week since its latest quarterly results. Things were not great overall, with a surprise (statutory) loss of US$0.21 per share on revenues of US$427m, even though the analysts had been expecting a profit. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Paysafe after the latest results.

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Paysafe's seven analysts is for revenues of US$1.85b in 2025. This would reflect a solid 8.7% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Paysafe is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$0.98 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$1.84b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.03 in 2025. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a small dip in their earnings per share forecasts.

The average price target fell 5.2% to US$21.33, with reduced earnings forecasts clearly tied to a lower valuation estimate. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Paysafe at US$26.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$17.00. 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 Paysafe's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Paysafe's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 6.9% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 3.7% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 4.5% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Paysafe to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. 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.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Paysafe going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

It might also be worth considering whether Paysafe's debt load is appropriate, using our debt analysis tools on the Simply Wall St platform, here.

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.