"Consensus expectations" is the average expectation of a set of analysts or research firms. In this process, individual analyses, for example earnings per share expectations, are added together and averaged.

There are specialized information providers and research firms, such as Consensus Economics and Zacks Investment Research, that offer such bundled analyses. Websites such as Belegger.co.uk also offer these consensus forecasts. Sometimes stock funds themselves ask analysts to do consensus valuations.

The consensus forecast gives investors a picture of what the market thinks about a company's future performance and can serve as a reference point for investment decisions.