Estimates
Drive Your Analysis of Market Winners With Rich Global Estimates and Powerful Analytical Tools
S&P Capital IQ Estimates provides high-quality financial estimates for a broad universe of companies from an extensive contributor universe. Easily access this comprehensive information via S&P Capital IQ Pro, our robust web-based market intelligence platform, or receive the data straight into your systems, portals, and business applications through our flexible Data Feed, Cloud and API Solutions.
Our recent integration of Visible Alpha in S&P Capital IQ Pro(opens in a new tab) lets you further unlock the power of estimates. Visible Alpha Estimates(opens in a new tab) is a comprehensive dataset that includes over 200 million data points and over 1 million consensus line items. These insights are sourced from the analyst models of more than 200 brokers, featuring contributors that you won't find anywhere else.
These two datasets complement each other and align perfectly with the professional investor’s workflow - S&P Capital IQ Estimates boasts broader broker coverage for a more comprehensive look at top line metrics, whereas Visible Alpha’s highly granular line items help you dive deeper to better understand what is driving company performance.
See What the Market is Saying to Zero in on Attractive Opportunities
Hone your stock selection, M&A targeting, competitor analysis, and more with broad, granular, and transparent estimates:
- Broker and Analyst Coverage: Estimates of public companies at any point in time.
- Estimate Revisions: Upward and downward changes.
- Consensus Estimates: Aggregated analyst estimates.
- Consensus Analysis: Estimated growth rates and surprise calculations.
- Surprise Analysis: Compare estimates from the day before a company reported earnings with the actual values.
- Detailed Estimates: Historical and current estimates for specific trading items or companies.
- Company Guidance: A public company's view of its future profit or loss.
- Industry Estimates: 95+ industry-specific estimates across 14 industries: Airlines, Banks, Education, Healthcare, Home-Building, Hotels & Restaurants, Insurance, Metals and Mining, Multi-Financial, Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology, Real Estate, Retail, and Telecommunications & Media.
Save Time and Enhance Efficiencies with all the Data You Need From One Provider
Tap into one of the industry’s largest histories.
- Rely on a rigorous inclusion/exclusion methodology that ensures high-quality consensus values that truly reflect valid estimates.
- View the full disclosure on analyst exclusions and on adjustments made to the consensus estimates without referring to source documents.
- See estimates on a calendar-year basis or for the next twelve months (quarterly and on a rolling-daily basis).
- Access estimate revisions that are updated intraday and forecast numbers that are presented with point-in-time data.
Sharpen your perspectives with data that’s been expanded and normalized.
- Benefit from historical data that’s supplemented from filings with crowdsourced estimates to see how unreported metrics are impacting consensus.
- Conduct reliable cross-company and industry comparisons with standardized data.
- Track both EPS normalized and EPS GAAP to obtain consistent data for detailed analysis.
- Gain greater analytical flexibility with Excel Plug-ins, screening, and alerts.
Bring Estimate Data to Life to Uncover New Insights
Leverage ChartIQ's advanced data visualization and charting capabilities to transform estimates data into a compelling visual narrative to identify crucial relationships and opportunities. You can seamlessly integrate Capital IQ Global Estimates and Visible Alpha Insights content with other datasets, including proprietary information, plus S&P Global and third-party data.
Look at the effect of earnings announcements and other developments on estimates, assess the impact of changes in estimates on stock prices and different financial metrics, and clearly see the assumptions and logic underlying much of the data.
Choose from a Range of Flexible Delivery Options to Get an Edge in Today's Global Markets
Receive estimates data via the S&P Capital IQ Pro platform or through our API Solutions, providing on-demand enterprise access.
Automate the download and management of data and obtain delivery at any frequency with our Xpressfeed™, our proprietary data feed solution.
Directly access and query S&P Capital IQ Estimates via Snowflake, a cloud-based offering, to eliminate the data ingestion process and improve productivity and efficiency
95+ Industry-Specific Estimates Across 14 Industries
S&P Global's industry-specific estimates offer a comprehensive toolset for analyzing the financial health of companies across a broad range of sectors. The S&P Capital IQ Estimates dataset features a wide array of global estimates, including over 95 industry-specific operating forecasts across 14 industries.
These estimates encompass current and historical consensus data, company guidance, and estimate revisions, providing a detailed foundation for modeling company performance and making well-informed investment decisions. By diving into these detailed financial metrics, users can gain a deeper understanding of the factors driving company success.
95+ Industry-Specific Estimates
Airlines
Metrics include Passenger Revenue, Total Fuel Expense, and Available Seat Miles.
Banking
Metrics include Average Loans, Non-Performing Assets and Net Interest Income.
Healthcare
Metrics include Supplies, Salaries & Benefits.
Home Building
Metrics include Land sales, Home Sales and Deliveries Average Price.
Hotels & Restaurants
Metrics include Total Occupancy (%), Total Restaurants EOP, Revenue Per Available Room and Total Restaurants EOP.
Insurance
Metrics include Gross Earned Premiums, Combined Ratio, and Underwriting Profit / Loss.
Metals & Mining
Metrics include Gold, Production, Silver Production and Exploration Costs.
Oil & Gas
Metrics include Oil & Gas Production, Exploration Expenses, and Average Daily Production.
Real Estate
Metrics include NAV Per Share, Cap Rate, Operating FFO Per Share, Loan to Value (%).
Retail
Metrics include Same Store Sales, Stores Opened During the Year, and Stores Closed.
TMT
Metrics include Monthly Active Users, Number of Subscribers, and Average Revenue Per User.
Other Industry Estimates
Other industry specific data items from Education, Multi-Financial, and Pharma & Biotech.
Coverage FAQs for S&P Capital IQ Estimates
Coverage
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What counts as a contributor?
- Each contributor is counted once – In situations where a contributor has departments in different regions (e.g., Credit Suisse North America, Credit Suisse Europe) we still count them as a single contributor (e.g., “Credit Suisse”)
- Definition of inactive contributors can differ among vendors – We generally only include active contributors in our publicly available coverage statistics. Vendors have varying definitions of “active contributor” which can explain some of the differences in the contributor counts among vendors. For example, a contributor may still be in business but is no longer producing estimates. We will deem them inactive for estimates; therefore, they will not be included in our coverage statistics.
- Estimates by ticker/trading item – We capture “per share” estimates on the ticker/trading item level. If a user is not seeing all the contributors they expect for a company with multiple listings, we recommend checking under the other listing(s). For example, Sony trades on TSE under 6758 and NYSE under SONY. We reflect the different estimates from analysts for the two trading items respectively. There is more estimates coverage for TSE:6758 compared to NYSE:SONY. The user may be looking at NYSE:SONY but expecting TSE:6758 coverage.
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Why are there coverage differences between S&P Global and other competing vendors?
- Coverage by small regional contributors may differ amongst estimates vendors, whereas bulge bracket coverage tends to be consistent among the major vendors.
- S&P Capital IQ Estimates are collected from broker research reports or from estimates feeds provided by the brokers directly. Our estimates data set does not include automated/computer-generated estimates.
- Vendors may use different criteria to determine which contributors to add to their network. Examples:
- Analyst calculations vs. automated estimates – brokers that primarily provide automated forecasts are generally excluded from our network
- One-person shops vs. institutions – the brokers in our network tend to be institutions
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Companies: If contributors are comparable across estimates providers why do some providers show different levels of company coverage for the same contributor?
- Contributor entitlements: Contributors may restrict users from seeing estimates for particular companies or geographies. On S&P Capital IQ and S&P Capital IQ Pro, if a user is entitled to a particular broker, they can view all the contributor’s estimates (they are not restricted to particular geographies or companies).
- Company coverage statistics may differ between data vendors due to active and inactive companies – There are situations where we deem a company inactive (no longer in business or have active estimates coverage). Our active company coverage statistics do not include inactive companies.
- Parent vs. consolidated – We provide estimates for both parent and consolidated estimates (where available and provided by analysts). Other data vendors may only collect one or the other. For example, company A owns 60% of company B. Company A may have estimates that reflect the parent company only (company A) and may have estimates for consolidated estimates, which include company A and 60% of company B’s estimates. Ten analysts provided consolidated estimates for company A and three analysts provided standalone parent estimates. We will have estimates both parent (3) and consolidated (10) while other information providers may only have estimates for one or the other. [Example: CEAT Limited (BSE:500878)]
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History: What is the difference in the historic coverage of S&P Capital IQ Estimates compared to other providers?
- Our historical estimates date back to 1997 internationally and 1999 specifically for North American companies. The length of history varies based on metric.
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Metrics: What metrics will be added to S&P Capital IQ Estimates in the future?
We are working to expand our industry specific, segment and product level estimates.
Our metrics currently include:
- General metrics (44)
- Industry specific metrics for
- Oil and Gas (12)
- Banks (10)
- Insurance (5)
- REITs (6)
- Commodity price targets (20)
- S&P 500 top down
- Each contributor is counted once – In situations where a contributor has departments in different regions (e.g., Credit Suisse North America, Credit Suisse Europe) we still count them as a single contributor (e.g., “Credit Suisse”)
- Definition of inactive contributors can differ among vendors – We generally only include active contributors in our publicly available coverage statistics. Vendors have varying definitions of “active contributor” which can explain some of the differences in the contributor counts among vendors. For example, a contributor may still be in business but is no longer producing estimates. We will deem them inactive for estimates; therefore, they will not be included in our coverage statistics.
- Estimates by ticker/trading item – We capture “per share” estimates on the ticker/trading item level. If a user is not seeing all the contributors they expect for a company with multiple listings, we recommend checking under the other listing(s). For example, Sony trades on TSE under 6758 and NYSE under SONY. We reflect the different estimates from analysts for the two trading items respectively. There is more estimates coverage for TSE:6758 compared to NYSE:SONY. The user may be looking at NYSE:SONY but expecting TSE:6758 coverage.
Quality/Methodology
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Why are there differences in the contributors included in your consensus compared to other providers? In some cases, you have less – doesn’t that make your consensus less accurate?
Our robust methodology is one of the strengths of S&P Capital IQ Estimates. Our rigorous inclusion/exclusion process can result in us excluding contributors that others don’t. Our methodology ensures high quality consensus values that truly reflect valid estimates. A higher number of contributors in consensus does not always mean a more accurate consensus. Our products will display all estimates with a clear explanation on why certain contributors have been excluded from consensus.
- We only include the majority basis – Different contributors estimates are not always comparable, some include items others don’t, etc. Mixing estimates that are not the same basis will not give a valid consensus number. Some competitors mix the basis in their consensus. We always exclude the minority basis. As an example, a company may have ten analysts covering it. Eight out of the ten include stock-based compensation while two do not. We will exclude the two contributors that were not aligned with the majority and display a consensus of eight contributors.
- Our estimates are updated to reflect guidance and significant events – We exclude estimates that are not reflecting the latest company guidance or not reflecting significant events such as a large earnings surprise, natural event, new regulations, etc.
- We do not calculate estimates on behalf of analysts e.g., company vs. per share level – Certain aggregators may calculate estimates on analysts’ behalf when components are available. We do not do this as we want to only reflect analysts’ actual estimates. For example, some analysts may provide estimates for both local and ADR estimates while others only provide one or the other. We will only reflect ones that are provided by the analysts even though we may have enough to calculate an ADR equivalent.
- Variations in policies for stale estimates - Stale estimates policies differ between providers. Some are more relaxed while others are stricter. Based on our analysis, 180 days for North American (reports quarterly) and 210 days for international (reports semi-annually) is the optimum amount of time. It gives enough time for analysts to digest, analyze and publish new estimates.
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Why do S&P Capital IQ Estimates show revenue as net for some companies and gross for others?
In certain situations, we may only have one field for a metric. For example, Revenue. Let’s say there are 10 analysts providing revenue estimates, 8 provide net revenue while 2 provide gross revenue. Our revenue consensus will reflect the 8 net revenue estimates and a consensus footnote will indicate that it’s reflecting net revenue. The 2 excluded gross revenue estimates will have an exclusion footnote indicating they are on a different basis. Different companies therefore may have revenue estimates that are not comparable as the majority of brokers look at net revenue for one but gross revenue for another.
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How does the quality of S&P Capital IQ Estimates compare to other providers?
- We offer best in class data quality and pride ourselves on it. As evidence of how strongly we stand behind both the quality and timeliness of our data we offer a quality program giving $50 for every verified error received.
- To ensure our data quality we run a robust list of automated and manual quality checks at the point of ingestion, before, at the time of and after collection.
Our robust methodology is one of the strengths of S&P Capital IQ Estimates. Our rigorous inclusion/exclusion process can result in us excluding contributors that others don’t. Our methodology ensures high quality consensus values that truly reflect valid estimates. A higher number of contributors in consensus does not always mean a more accurate consensus. Our products will display all estimates with a clear explanation on why certain contributors have been excluded from consensus.
- We only include the majority basis – Different contributors estimates are not always comparable, some include items others don’t, etc. Mixing estimates that are not the same basis will not give a valid consensus number. Some competitors mix the basis in their consensus. We always exclude the minority basis. As an example, a company may have ten analysts covering it. Eight out of the ten include stock-based compensation while two do not. We will exclude the two contributors that were not aligned with the majority and display a consensus of eight contributors.
- Our estimates are updated to reflect guidance and significant events – We exclude estimates that are not reflecting the latest company guidance or not reflecting significant events such as a large earnings surprise, natural event, new regulations, etc.
- We do not calculate estimates on behalf of analysts e.g., company vs. per share level – Certain aggregators may calculate estimates on analysts’ behalf when components are available. We do not do this as we want to only reflect analysts’ actual estimates. For example, some analysts may provide estimates for both local and ADR estimates while others only provide one or the other. We will only reflect ones that are provided by the analysts even though we may have enough to calculate an ADR equivalent.
- Variations in policies for stale estimates - Stale estimates policies differ between providers. Some are more relaxed while others are stricter. Based on our analysis, 180 days for North American (reports quarterly) and 210 days for international (reports semi-annually) is the optimum amount of time. It gives enough time for analysts to digest, analyze and publish new estimates.
Timeliness
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What are the differences in speed of S&P Capital IQ Estimates and other estimates providers?
There are minimal differences in general, but differences in prioritization amongst providers may result in small variations in timing for certain metrics or companies. Our typical turnaround times range from minutes to a few hours.
S&P Capital IQ Estimates
Data Type
Typical Turnaround Time
Award Eligibility
Estimates
2 hours
24 hours
Headline Actuals
1 hour
12 hours
Guidance
3 hours
12 hours
There are minimal differences in general, but differences in prioritization amongst providers may result in small variations in timing for certain metrics or companies. Our typical turnaround times range from minutes to a few hours.
S&P Capital IQ Estimates |
Data Type |
Typical Turnaround Time |
Award Eligibility |
Estimates |
2 hours |
24 hours |
|
Headline Actuals |
1 hour |
12 hours |
|
Guidance |
3 hours |
12 hours |
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