Looking at LeMaitre Vascular, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LMAT) earnings update in December 2018, the consensus outlook from analysts appear somewhat bearish, with profits predicted to rise by -25% next year against the higher past 5-year average growth rate of 40%. Presently, with latest-twelve-month earnings at US$23m, we should see this growing to US$17m by 2020. I will provide a brief commentary around the figures and analyst expectations in the near term. Investors wanting to learn more about other aspects of the company should research its fundamentals here.

See our latest analysis for LeMaitre Vascular

Exciting times ahead?

Over the next three years, it seems the consensus view of the 7 analysts covering LMAT is skewed towards the negative sentiment. Generally, broker analysts tend to make predictions for up to three years given the lack of visibility beyond this point. To get an idea of the overall earnings growth trend for LMAT, I’ve plotted out each year’s earnings expectations and inserted a line of best fit to determine an annual rate of growth from the slope of this line.

By 2022, LMAT's earnings should reach US$25m, from current levels of US$23m, resulting in an annual growth rate of -3.1%. However, if we exclude extraordinary items from earnings, we see that the profits is predicted to rise over time, resulting in an EPS of $1.2 in the final year of forecast compared to the current $1.18 EPS today. Fall in earnings appears to be a result of top-line expansion of 6.8%, which is predicted to lag cost growth leading up to 2022. With this high cost growth, margins is expected to contract from 22% to 19% by the end of 2022.

Next Steps:

Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For LeMaitre Vascular, I've compiled three important aspects 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 LeMaitre Vascular 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 LeMaitre Vascular is currently mispriced by the market.

3. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of LeMaitre Vascular? 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.