Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) defied analyst predictions to release its first-quarter results, which were ahead of market expectations. Guardant Health beat expectations with revenues of US$203m arriving 7.1% ahead of forecasts. The company also reported a statutory loss of US$0.77, 7.6% smaller than was 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

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Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Guardant Health from 22 analysts is for revenues of US$881.2m in 2025. If met, it would imply a decent 14% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Losses are forecast to narrow 9.4% to US$3.05 per share. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$857.4m and losses of US$3.22 per share in 2025. So there seems to have been a moderate uplift in analyst sentiment with the latest consensus release, given the upgrades to both revenue and loss per share forecasts for this year.

View our latest analysis for Guardant Health

The consensus price target rose 5.2% to US$59.17, with the analysts encouraged by the higher revenue and lower forecast losses for next year. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic Guardant Health analyst has a price target of US$70.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$47.00. 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.

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. The period to the end of 2025 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 19% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 23% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 7.0% per year. So it's pretty clear that Guardant Health is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.

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The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. Pleasantly, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

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

You still need to take note of risks, for example - Guardant Health has  2 warning signs  (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored)  we think 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.

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