China Telecom Corporation Limited (HKG:728) Yearly Results Just Came Out: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For This Year

As you might know, China Telecom Corporation Limited (HKG:728) last week released its latest full-year, and things did not turn out so great for shareholders. China Telecom missed analyst forecasts, with revenues of CN¥524b and statutory earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥0.36, falling short by 2.1% and 4.8% respectively. 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. 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, China Telecom's 13 analysts currently expect revenues in 2026 to be CN¥530.7b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to decrease 4.0% to CN¥0.35 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of CN¥545.3b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥0.39 in 2026. It's pretty clear that pessimism has reared its head after the latest results, leading to a weaker revenue outlook and a small dip in earnings per share estimates.

See our latest analysis for China Telecom

The analysts made no major changes to their price target of HK$6.64, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on China Telecom's valuation. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values China Telecom at HK$9.09 per share, while the most bearish prices it at HK$5.51. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that China Telecom's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2026 expected to display 1.3% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 5.7% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 2.4% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than China Telecom.

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. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider 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.

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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for China Telecom going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that China Telecom is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , 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.