Lion Finance Group PLC (LON:BGEO) Just Reported First-Quarter Earnings: Have Analysts Changed Their Mind On The Stock?
As you might know, Lion Finance Group PLC (LON:BGEO) recently reported its first-quarter numbers. It was a credible result overall, with revenues of GEL1.1b and statutory earnings per share of GEL49.91 both in line with analyst estimates, showing that Lion Finance Group is executing in line with 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
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Following the latest results, Lion Finance Group's five analysts are now forecasting revenues of GEL4.80b in 2026. This would be a meaningful 11% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to accumulate 4.5% to GEL54.04. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of GEL4.91b and earnings per share (EPS) of GEL56.96 in 2026. It's pretty clear that pessimism has reared its head after the latest results, leading to a weaker revenue outlook and a minor downgrade to earnings per share estimates.
See our latest analysis for Lion Finance Group
Despite the cuts to forecast earnings, there was no real change to the UK£117 price target, showing that the analysts don't think the changes have a meaningful impact on its intrinsic value. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. There are some variant perceptions on Lion Finance Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at UK£131 and the most bearish at UK£79.40 per share. 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 Lion Finance Group's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that Lion Finance Group's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 15% annualised growth rate until the end of 2026 being well below the historical 27% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 6.5% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Lion Finance Group's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the industry itself.
The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Lion Finance Group. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, but the latest forecasts still imply the business will grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at UK£117, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
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 Lion Finance Group analysts - going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.
We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for Lion Finance Group that you need to be mindful of.
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