El consumo es más bajo de lo que estima la empresa.

Because más bajo de lo que... is a very common Spanish comparison pattern meaning lower than what... or lower than ... says/thinks/estimates.

In English, we often say:

• lower than the company estimates
• lower than what the company estimates

In Spanish, after a comparative like más bajo, mayor, menor, más alto, etc., you will often see:

• de lo que

So:

• más bajo de lo que estima la empresa = lower than what the company estimates

Here, lo que means something like what / that which, and de is part of this comparative structure.

Lo que is a neutral expression that refers to what or that which, without naming a specific noun.

In this sentence, it refers to the amount/level that the company estimates, not to a specific masculine noun. That is why lo que works well.

Compare:

• de lo que estima la empresa = than what the company estimates

If you used el que, it would sound like you were referring to a specific masculine noun already mentioned, which is not what is happening here.

And más bajo que estima la empresa would sound incomplete or unnatural in standard Spanish. The normal structure here is más bajo de lo que...

Here, estima comes from estimar, which often means to estimate in formal, business, technical, or statistical contexts.

So:

• la empresa estima = the company estimates

Be careful: estimar can also mean to value or to appreciate, and in some contexts even to consider. But in this sentence, the meaning is clearly estimate.

Because the sentence is describing a characteristic or measured level of consumo, not a temporary location or state in the usual estar sense.

• El consumo es más bajo... = Consumption is lower...

With measurements, comparisons, and general descriptions, Spanish commonly uses ser:

• El precio es alto
• La temperatura es baja
• El consumo es más bajo

Using está here would usually sound less natural unless the context strongly emphasized a temporary changing condition at a particular moment.

Because bajo agrees with consumo, which is a masculine singular noun.

• el consumo → masculine singular
• so: más bajo

If the noun were feminine singular, you would use baja:

• La demanda es más baja

If it were plural:

• Los costos son más bajos
• Las ventas son más bajas

Yes, often it could.

• El consumo es menor de lo que estima la empresa.
• El consumo es más bajo de lo que estima la empresa.

Both are possible.

The difference is mostly one of style and nuance:

• menor is often a little more formal or abstract
• más bajo feels very natural when talking about levels, rates, amounts, prices, temperatures, etc.

In many business or technical contexts, both are acceptable.

Spanish usually uses the definite article more often than English with general or known concepts.

So El consumo can mean:

• Consumption
• The consumption

depending on context.

In English, we often drop the article more easily. In Spanish, keeping el here sounds normal and natural.

Because the sentence presents the company’s estimate as a current fact or current point of reference.

• estima = estimates / is estimating

Spanish often uses the present tense where English might also use the present:

• La empresa estima que...
• El consumo es más bajo de lo que estima la empresa.

There is no special reason to use the subjunctive here. This is a normal comparison with a statement treated as factual, so the indicative estima is expected.

Yes. Both are possible:

• de lo que estima la empresa
• de lo que la empresa estima

Both mean the same thing.

The version in your sentence is very natural. Spanish often places the verb before the subject, especially when the subject is a full noun phrase like la empresa.

So estima la empresa is not strange at all. It is just a normal Spanish word order.

Consumo usually means consumption or usage, depending on context.

For example, it could refer to:

• electricity consumption
• fuel consumption
• water usage
• overall consumer use

So in natural English, the translation might vary:

• Consumption is lower than the company estimates.
• Usage is lower than the company estimates.

The best English word depends on the topic being discussed.

It sounds neutral to somewhat formal.

Words like consumo and estima are common in:

• business reports
• news articles
• technical writing
• economic or corporate contexts

A more casual everyday sentence might use different vocabulary depending on the situation, but this sentence itself is perfectly normal and natural in standard Spanish, including Latin American Spanish.