Since bioMérieux S.A. (EPA:BIM) released its earnings in December 2018, it seems that analyst expectations are fairly bearish, with earnings expected to grow by 8.0% in the upcoming year relative to the higher past 5-year average growth rate of 16%. Currently with trailing-twelve-month earnings of €257m, we can expect this to reach €277m by 2020. Below is a brief commentary around bioMérieux's earnings outlook going forward, which may give you a sense of market sentiment for the company. Investors wanting to learn more about other aspects of the company should research its fundamentals here.

See our latest analysis for bioMérieux

How will bioMérieux perform in the near future?

Over the next three years, it seems the consensus view of the 11 analysts covering BIM is skewed towards the positive sentiment. Broker analysts tend to forecast up to three years ahead due to a lack of clarity around the business trajectory beyond this. To understand the overall trajectory of BIM's earnings growth over these next fews years, I've fitted a line through these analyst earnings forecast to determine an annual growth rate from the slope.

From the current net income level of €257m and the final forecast of €346m by 2022, the annual rate of growth for BIM’s earnings is 9.5%. This leads to an EPS of €2.93 in the final year of projections relative to the current EPS of €2.18. With a current profit margin of 11%, this movement will result in a margin of 11% by 2022.

Next Steps:

Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For bioMérieux, I've compiled three key factors you should further research:

1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.

2. Valuation: What is bioMérieux worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether bioMérieux is currently mispriced by the market.

3. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of bioMérieux? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.