Owning Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares has seen its fair share of volatility in the last few years.
I think the ASX energy share could be one to investigate following all of the uncertainty amid the Middle East conflict.
Woodside is one of the largest oil and gas businesses on the ASX, so what happens with the energy prices has a big impact on its earnings.
We're going to look at what analysts are predicting with Woodside earnings in the next few years, which could give insights as to whether the Woodside share price is undervalued or not.
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FY26
We're about three quarters of the way through the Woodside 2026 financial year, as its financial year follows the calendar year.
The company has already reported how it performed in the first half of FY26.
Woodside revealed that operating revenue grew 13% to US$7.4 billion, underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) grew 7% to $1.3 billion, and free cash flow surged 159% to $352 million.
The numbers were driven by a 20% rise in the average realised price to US$74 per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE). That helped offset a 13% reduction in total production volume to 86.5 million barrels of oil equivalent.
One of the biggest future drivers of future earnings may be the completion of the various projects it's working on. In the FY26 half-year result, it reported that Scarborough was 98% complete, Trion was 64% complete, and Louisiana LNG was 28% complete.
As those projects come online, development spending will finish, and the earnings can start flowing, which will be felt in future years.
According to the projection on CommSec, the business is forecast to see earnings per share (EPS) of $2.184. That means it's now valued at 15 times FY26's estimated earnings.
FY27
The ASX energy share could see earnings increase in the 2027 financial year, which would be music to investors' ears.
Its performance in FY27 could be dependent on whether normal energy flows out of the Middle East resume. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight at this stage.
As I mentioned above, completed projects could be a boost for earnings in FY27 and beyond.
EPS is projected to rise by 21.3% to $2.649, implying it's valued at 12 times FY27's estimated earnings.
FY28
You'd hope that by 2028, the Middle East situation will have been resolved for some time. If it is, energy prices could be lower – that'd be good for virtually all Australians, but a headwind for Woodside's earnings.
Energy prices will probably have a sizeable impact on the FY28 result, whatever is happening in that year.
According to the forecast on CommSec, Woodside's EPS could decline by 5% to $2.52. That suggests the Woodside share price is valued at 13 times FY28's estimated earnings.
Is the Woodside share price a buy?
With those future earnings in mind, let's take a look at what experts think of the business.
According to CommSec's collation of analyst opinions, there are currently six buy ratings, eight hold ratings, and three sell ratings on the business. That's a bit of a mixed bag.
I try to invest in cyclical stocks (such as energy) when prices are low rather than high, as is the case now. Therefore, I'd look at other ASX share opportunities first.
