DHR

Danaher came into this Q3 2026 report with the stock already grinding higher over the past three months. It then jumped another 4.3% to about $233.86 after the release. The move looks like a relief rally, yet the core story sits in the income statement. Management delivered roughly $6.6b of revenue and pushed adjusted operating margin to about 29%, while earnings per share over the trailing year reached just above $6. That combination of higher profitability and solid earnings power is what traders are paying up for today. Love Danaher's higher margin profile but want more ideas with strong profitability baked in? Scan the broader field with our list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks (25 results) - Total Revenue (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$6,554m vs. US$6,053m (up 8.3%) - Net Income (Excl. Extra Items, Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$1,207m vs. US$908m (up 33.0%) - Basic EPS (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$1.71 vs. US$1.28 (up 34.3%) - Adjusted Operating Margin (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): approximately 29.0% vs. approximately 27.9% (expansion of approximately 110 bps) Prefer clean visuals instead of slogging through another dense block of financials and footnotes? See Danaher's full picture in an easy-to-scan format that pulls together its valuation in our company report for Danaher. The upbeat narrative around Danaher hinges on building a higher quality mix of consumables, diagnostics and cash generation that funds portfolio moves and buybacks. "Analysts expect Danaher to continue compounding its mix of recurring consumables and diagnostics revenue, while converting earnings into strong free cash flow that supports buybacks and portfolio reshaping." Q3 points in that direction. Diagnostics core revenue excluding respiratory grew 7%, with non respiratory Cepheid assays in the low double digits. Free cash flow reached US$1.6b in the quarter and US$4b year to date with 128% conversion, while roughly US$900m of repurchases in the first half support the capital return leg of this thesis. The cautious angle argues that heavy dependence on recurring tools and diagnostics, plus policy risk in China, could blunt the story. "Volume based procurement and reimbursement changes in China that have already pressured Diagnostics revenue could extend beyond current expectations. Any further pricing pressure in that market would directly affect segment revenue and could compress net margins if not offset by cost efficiencies." Current numbers show some cushion. Diagnostics ex respiratory grew mid single digits, with segment margins contributing to the roughly 110 bps adjusted operating margin expansion to about 29%. Management still calls out China pricing as a watchpoint, yet Q3 profitability suggests any ongoing pressure is being offset for now through mix, cost control and non China growth. Not everyone reads the same price the same way. → See the higher figure this Narrative lands on, and how it gets there. Danaher recently showed how sentiment can change when quarterly results align with the income statement. The real opportunity is finding stocks that might be undervalued before that kind of repricing occurs. - Company 1 - 41% below our estimate - leans into expanded manufacturing capacity and supply chains for higher margin protective films and installation channels. - Company 2 - 40% below our estimate - expands a premium teahouse network while a rapidly growing membership base deepens loyalty and lifts order frequency. - Company 3 - 39% below our estimate - scales a device recommerce platform as policy-supported trade in programs and changing recycling habits increase used electronics supply. That is three of the list. See the full list of 33 companies trading below our fair value estimates → This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include DHR. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Danaher Corporation DHR reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 by 9.9%. The bottom line increased 11.6% year over year from $1.89 per share. Stronger profitability in the Biotechnology segment supported results. Revenues of $6.55 billion were in line with the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion and grew 8.5% year over year. Core sales rose 3.0%, while core sales excluding respiratory testing advanced 5.5%. Acquisitions contributed to reported growth, led by the Diagnostics segment. Revenues from the Biotechnology segment totaled $1.81 billion, up 0.5% year over year from $1.80 billion. Core sales rose 5.0%. Adjusted operating profit increased to $756 million from $669 million, while adjusted operating margin expanded 460 basis points to 41.8%. The segment's reported operating profit rose to $477 million from $352 million. Life Sciences revenues were $1.87 billion, up 4.0% from $1.79 billion in the prior-year quarter. Core sales increased 4.5%. Adjusted operating profit climbed to $404 million from $376 million, and adjusted operating margin improved 70 basis points to 21.7%. Reported operating profit increased to $259 million from $222 million. Diagnostics sales totaled $2.88 billion, increasing 17.0% from $2.46 billion a year earlier. Acquisitions contributed 16.5 percentage points to reported growth. Core sales edged up 0.5%, but core sales excluding respiratory testing increased 7.0%. Adjusted operating profit increased to $831 million from $728 million, although adjusted margin narrowed 80 basis points to 28.8%. The acquisition-led expansion in the Diagnostics segment contrasted with the relatively modest growth in underlying respiratory-related testing. Respiratory testing revenues were approximately $350 million compared with about $500 million in the year-ago period. The decline remained a headwind to overall core growth. At the company level, acquisitions and divestitures contributed 6.5% to reported sales growth. Danaher Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Danaher Corporation Quote Danaher's cost of sales rose 7.4% year over year to $2.72 billion. Gross profit increased 8.9% to $3.84 billion, with gross margin of 58.5% compared with 58.2% a year earlier. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 8.4% to $2.16 billion. Research and development expenses rose 14.6% to $433 million. Operating profit increased 7.9% to $1.25 billion, while reported operating margin slipped to 19.0% from 19.1%. Adjusted operating profit rose to $1.90 billion from $1.69 billion, lifting adjusted operating margin to 29.0% from 27.9%. Exiting the third quarter, DHR had cash and equivalents of $5.68 billion compared with $4.62 billion at 2025-end. Long-term debt was $24.39 billion at the end of the quarter compared with $18.42 billion at the end of December 2025. Danaher generated net cash of $4.74 billion from operating activities in the first nine months of 2026 compared with $4.30 billion in the previous year's comparable period. Capital expenditures totaled $761 million in the same period, down 3.1% year over year. Free cash flow increased 13.0% year over year to $3.98 billion in the first nine months of 2026. In the same period, DHR paid out dividends of $790 million, up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. For the fourth quarter of 2026, Danaher projects core revenue growth, excluding respiratory testing, of 4.0-5.0% year over year. Respiratory revenues are expected to create a headwind of roughly 150 basis points, resulting in anticipated overall core sales growth of approximately 3.0%. Adjusted operating margin is projected at about 29.5%. For full-year 2026, Danaher raised its adjusted earnings guidance to $8.57-$8.62 per share from the prior range of $8.45-$8.60. The company expects full-year core revenue growth of about 2.5%, with mid-single-digit growth excluding respiratory testing. Its Life Sciences business is forecast to deliver 3.0-4.0% core sales growth for the year. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Here are some other companies within the broader Medical sector, which according to our model, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in this reporting cycle. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. ACHC has an Earnings ESP of +4.84% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is slated to release third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 4. Acadia Healthcare's earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 47%. Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AGIO has an Earnings ESP of +9.37% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 5. Agios Pharmaceuticals' earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average surprise being 7.4%. Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX has an Earnings ESP of +0.21% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The company is slated to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended September 2026) results on Nov. 5. Becton's earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 2.9%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Danaher Corporation (DHR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (ACHC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AGIO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) today announced results for the third quarter 2026. All results in this release reflect only continuing operations and period-to-period comparisons are year-over-year unless otherwise noted. Key Third Quarter 2026 Results - Net earnings were $1.2 billion, or $1.71 per diluted common share, up 34.5% year-over-year. - Non-GAAP adjusted diluted net earnings per common share grew 11.5% to $2.11. - Revenues increased 8.5% year-over-year to $6.6 billion. - Non-GAAP core revenue excluding respiratory revenue increased 5.5% year-over-year and non-GAAP core revenue increased 3.0% year-over-year. - Operating cash flow was $1.9 billion and non-GAAP free cash flow was $1.6 billion. Julie Sawyer Montgomery, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We delivered better-than-expected third quarter revenue, earnings and cash flow, and are encouraged by the improving trends we saw across our end markets. The continued acceleration in core revenue growth excluding respiratory revenue, together with DBS-driven execution drove double-digit adjusted EPS growth and underscored our ability to convert improving demand into strong financial performance." Ms. Sawyer Montgomery continued, "Danaher has built a strong foundation, and the time I've spent with our teams and customers during my transition into the CEO role has only reinforced my conviction in the opportunities ahead. Looking forward, the opportunity for Danaher is clear: to become the defining leader in Life Sciences and Diagnostics–a company that unambiguously gains share, delivers sustainable profitable growth, and helps our customers improve outcomes for patients around the world." Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2026 Outlook Danaher Corporation (the "Company") does not reconcile non-GAAP forecasted core sales growth, adjusted operating profit margin and adjusted diluted net earnings per common share to their respective, comparable measure prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) because (except for estimated amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets of $0.5 billion for the fourth quarter and $1.9 billion for the year ending December 31, 2026 and the estimated impact of foreign currency on sales, which is estimated to be flat in the fourth quarter and increase sales by 1.0% in the full year, assuming the currency exchange rates in effect as of September 25, 2026) the additional elements that would be reflected in any such GAAP measures (such as the impact of currency exchange rates on profitability, future acquisitions, divested product lines, discrete tax adjustments, impairments, gains and losses on investments and the outcome of legal proceedings) are difficult to predict and estimate and are often dependent on future events that may be uncertain or outside of our control. The impact of these additional elements could be material to our results computed in accordance with GAAP. For the fourth quarter 2026, the Company anticipates that non-GAAP core revenue excluding respiratory revenue will increase in the 4.0% to 5.0% range year-over-year. We expect respiratory revenue to be an approximately 150 basis point headwind, resulting in core revenue growth of approximately 3.0%. For full year 2026, the Company is increasing its full year adjusted diluted net earnings per common share guidance to a range of $8.57 to $8.62 versus previous guidance of $8.45 to $8.60. Conference Call and Webcast Information Danaher will discuss its third quarter results and financial guidance for the fourth quarter and full year 2026, including as applicable key assumptions with respect thereto, during its investor conference call today starting at 8:00 a.m. ET. The call and an accompanying slide presentation will be webcast on the "Investors" section of Danaher's website, www.danaher.com, under the subheading "Events & Presentations." A replay of the webcast will be available in the same section of Danaher's website shortly after the conclusion of the presentation and will remain available until the next quarterly earnings call. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 800-267-6316, within the U.S. or +1 203-518-9783 outside the U.S. a few minutes before 8:00 a.m. ET and notifying the operator that you are dialing in for Danaher's earnings conference call (Conference ID: DHRQ326). A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call and until November 4, 2026. You can access the replay dial-in information on the "Investors" section of Danaher's website under the subheading "Events & Presentations." ABOUT DANAHER Danaher is a leading global life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology innovator committed to advancing the power of science and technology to improve human health. Through a connected ecosystem of industry-leading businesses, the Company works closely with customers to solve many of their most complex scientific challenges by accelerating discovery, development and the delivery of life-changing therapies. Powered by the Danaher Business System and 60,000 associates worldwide, the Company strives for continuous improvement, operational excellence and Innovation at the Speed of Life. Explore more at www.danaher.com. NON-GAAP MEASURES AND SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, this earnings release also contains non-GAAP financial measures. Calculations of these measures, explanations of what these measures represent and the reasons why we believe these measures provide useful information to investors, a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, where applicable, and other information relating to these non-GAAP measures are included in the supplemental reconciliation schedule attached. In addition, this earnings release, the slide presentation accompanying the related earnings call, non-GAAP reconciliations and a note containing details of historical and anticipated, future financial performance have been posted to the "Investors" section of Danaher's website (www.danaher.com). FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION Statements in this release that are not strictly historical, including the statements regarding the Company's anticipated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2026, the Company's expectations regarding business trends, opportunities, market share gains, sustainable profitable growth and improved patient outcomes and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things: the impact of the tariffs and related actions implemented by the U.S. and other countries, the impact of our debt obligations (including debt we incurred to finance the acquisition of Masimo Corporation) on our operations and liquidity, deterioration of or instability in the global economy, the markets we serve and the financial markets, uncertainties with respect to the development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence in our business and products, the impact of global health crises, uncertainties relating to national laws or policies, including laws or policies to protect or promote domestic interests and/or address foreign competition, our ability to successfully identify and consummate appropriate acquisitions and strategic investments, our ability to integrate the businesses we acquire and achieve the anticipated growth, synergies and other benefits of such acquisitions, contingent liabilities and other risks relating to acquisitions, investments, strategic relationships and divestitures (in each case, including with respect to our acquisition of Masimo Corporation), including tax-related and other contingent liabilities relating to past and future IPOs, split-offs or spin-offs, contractions or growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, competition, our ability to develop and successfully market new products and technologies and expand into new markets, the potential for improper conduct by our employees, agents or business partners, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations (including rules relating to off-label marketing and other regulations relating to medical devices and the health care industry), the results of our clinical trials and perceptions thereof, our ability to effectively address cost reductions and other changes in the health care industry, security breaches or other disruptions of our information technology systems or violations of data privacy laws, risks relating to potential impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, currency exchange rates, tax audits and changes in our tax rate and income tax liabilities, changes in tax laws applicable to multinational companies, litigation, regulatory proceedings and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property and environmental, health and safety matters, the rights of the United States government with respect to our production capacity in times of national emergency or with respect to intellectual property/production capacity developed using government funding, risks relating to product, service or software defects, product liability and recalls, risks relating to our manufacturing operations, the impact of climate change, legal or regulatory measures to address climate change and other sustainability topics and our ability to address regulatory requirements or stakeholder expectations relating to climate change and other sustainability topics, risks relating to fluctuations in the cost and availability of the supplies we use (including commodities) and labor we need for our operations, our relationships with and the performance of our channel partners, uncertainties relating to collaboration arrangements with third-parties, the impact of deregulation on demand for our products and services, labor matters and our ability to recruit, retain and motivate talented employees, U.S. and non-U.S. economic, political, geopolitical, legal, compliance, social and business factors (including the impact of elections, regulatory and policy changes or uncertainty, government shutdowns and military conflicts such as the conflict in the Middle East), disruptions and other impacts relating to man-made and natural disasters, inflation and the impact of our By-law exclusive forum provisions. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2026. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and except to the extent required by applicable law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise. This press release may include descriptions of certain products and/or devices that have applications submitted and pending for certain regulatory approvals, or are available only in certain markets. DANAHER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS ($ and shares in millions, except per share amounts) (unaudited) | Three-Month Period Ended | | Nine-Month Period Ended | | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 | | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 | Sales | $ 6,554 | | $ 6,053 | | $ 18,770 | | $ 17,730 | Cost of sales | (2,717) | | (2,530) | | (7,731) | | (7,173) | Gross profit | 3,837 | | 3,523 | | 11,039 | | 10,557 | Operating costs: | | | | | | | | Selling, general and administrative expenses | (2,159) | | (1,991) | | (6,091) | | (6,209) | Research and development expenses | (433) | | (378) | | (1,232) | | (1,160) | Operating profit | 1,245 | | 1,154 | | 3,716 | | 3,188 | Nonoperating income (expense): | | | | | | | | Other income (expense), net | (9) | | (14) | | (85) | | (135) | Interest expense | (135) | | (67) | | (305) | | (210) | Interest income | 31 | | 3 | | 119 | | 17 | Earnings before income taxes | 1,132 | | 1,076 | | 3,445 | | 2,860 | Income taxes | 75 | | (168) | | (339) | | (443) | Net earnings from continuing operations | 1,207 | | 908 | | 3,106 | | 2,417 | Earnings from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | 28 | | — | | 28 | | — | Net earnings | $ 1,235 | | $ 908 | | $ 3,134 | | $ 2,417 | Net earnings per common share from continuing operations: | | | | | | | | Basic | $ 1.71 | | $ 1.28 | | $ 4.40 | (a) | $ 3.38 | Diluted | $ 1.71 | | $ 1.27 | | $ 4.38 | (a) | $ 3.37 | Net earnings per common share from discontinued operations: | | | | | | | | Basic | $ 0.04 | | $ — | | $ 0.04 | | $ — | Diluted | $ 0.04 | | $ — | | $ 0.04 | | $ — | Net earnings per common share: | | | | | | | | Basic | $ 1.75 | | $ 1.28 | | $ 4.44 | (a) | $ 3.38 | (a) Diluted | $ 1.75 | | $ 1.27 | | $ 4.42 | (a) | $ 3.37 | (a) Average common stock and common equivalent shares outstanding: | | | | | | | | Basic | 703.8 | | 710.7 | | 705.7 | | 714.5 | Diluted | 706.8 | | 713.7 | | 708.5 | | 717.9 | | (a) | Net earnings per common share amounts for the relevant three-month periods do not add to the nine-month period amount due to rounding. | This information is presented for reference only. A complete copy of Danaher's Form 10-Q financial statements is available on the Company's website (www.danaher.com). DANAHER CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES Diluted Net Earnings Per Common Share from Continuing Operations and Adjusted Diluted Net Earnings Per Common Share from Continuing Operations | Three-Month Period Ended | | Nine-Month Period Ended | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 | | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 Diluted Net Earnings Per Common Share From Continuing Operations (GAAP) | $ 1.71 | | $ 1.27 | | $ 4.38 | | $ 3.37 Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets A | 0.73 | | 0.61 | | 1.99 | | 1.77 Fair value net (gains) losses on investments B | 0.02 | | 0.02 | | 0.14 | | 0.21 Acquisition-related items C | 0.12 | | — | | 0.29 | | — Impairments D | 0.07 | | 0.14 | | 0.07 | | 0.76 Special equity awards compensation expense E | 0.02 | | — | | 0.02 | | — Settlement of acquisition-related contingency F | (0.01) | | — | | (0.01) | | — Gain on a product line disposition G | — | | — | | — | | (0.01) Tax effect of the above adjustments H | (0.17) | | (0.15) | | (0.43) | | (0.54) Discrete tax adjustments I | (0.37) | | — | | (0.34) | | 0.02 Rounding | (0.01) | | — | | — | | (0.01) Adjusted Diluted Net Earnings Per Common Share From Continuing Operations (Non-GAAP) | $ 2.11 | | $ 1.89 | | $ 6.11 | | $ 5.57 | Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures A | Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets in the following historical periods ($ in millions) (only the pretax amounts set forth below are reflected in the amortization line item above): | | Three-Month Period Ended | | Nine-Month Period Ended | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 | | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 Pretax | $ 513 | | $ 433 | | $ 1,410 | | $ 1,269 After-tax | 426 | | 359 | | 1,170 | | 1,053 | B | Net (gains) losses on the Company's equity and limited partnership investments recorded in the following historical periods ($ in millions) (only the pretax amounts set forth below are reflected in the fair value net (gains) losses on investments line above): | | Three-Month Period Ended | | Nine-Month Period Ended | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 | | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 Pretax | $ 13 | | $ 15 | | $ 97 | | $ 149 After-tax | 10 | | 12 | | 74 | | 113 | C | Fair value adjustments to inventory in the three and nine-month periods ended September 25, 2026 ($84 million and $130 million pretax as reported in this line item, $67 million and $103 million after-tax, respectively), transaction costs deemed significant and pre-acquisition share-based and change-in-control payments in each case related to the acquisition of Masimo Corporation in the nine-month period ended September 25, 2026 ($79 million pretax as reported in this line item, $74 million after-tax). The Company deems acquisition-related transaction costs incurred in a given period to be significant (generally relating to the Company's larger acquisitions) if it determines that such costs exceed the range of acquisition-related transaction costs typical for Danaher in a given period. | D | Impairment charges related to a facility in the Biotechnology segment recorded in both the three and nine-month periods ended September 25, 2026 ($52 million pretax as reported in this line item, $39 million after-tax), technology and other intangible assets in the Biotechnology segment recorded in both the three and nine-month periods ended September 26, 2025 ($86 million pretax as reported in this line item, $58 million after-tax), a trade name in the Diagnostics segment recorded in both the three and nine-month periods ended September 26, 2025 ($15 million pretax as reported in this line item, $12 million after-tax), a trade name in the Life Sciences segment recorded in the nine-month period ended September 26, 2025 ($432 million pretax as reported in this line item, $328 million after-tax) and a facility in the Biotechnology segment recorded in the nine-month period ended September 26, 2025 ($15 million pretax as reported in this line item, $11 million after-tax). | E | Compensation expense in the three and nine-month periods ended September 25, 2026 related to special long-term growth equity awards granted to the Company's founders, certain executive officers and other key leaders in the third quarter of 2026 ("special equity awards") ($14 million pretax as reported in this line item, $14 million after-tax). These awards have vesting terms and amounts that differ from the Company's typical annual equity grants. | F | Settlement of an acquisition-related contingency in the Life Sciences segment in the three and nine-month periods ended September 25, 2026 ($8 million pretax as reported in this line item, $6 million after-tax). | G | Gain on a product line disposition in the nine-month period ended September 26, 2025 ($9 million pretax as reported in this line item, $7 million after-tax). | H | This line item reflects the aggregate tax effect of all nontax adjustments reflected in the preceding line items of the table. In addition, the footnotes above indicate the after-tax amount of each individual adjustment item. Danaher estimates the tax effect of each adjustment item by applying Danaher's overall estimated effective tax rate to the pretax amount, unless the nature of the item and/or the tax jurisdiction in which the item has been recorded requires application of a specific tax rate or tax treatment, in which case the tax effect of such item is estimated by applying such specific tax rate or tax treatment. | I | Discrete tax adjustments and other tax-related adjustments for the three-month period ended September 25, 2026, include the impact of net discrete tax benefits of $263 million related primarily to the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions resulting from audit settlements. Discrete tax adjustments and other tax-related adjustments for the nine-month period ended September 25, 2026, include the impact of net discrete tax benefits of $242 million related primarily to the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions resulting from audit settlements and the expiration of statutes of limitations during the nine-month period, partially offset by changes in estimates associated with prior period uncertain tax positions. There were no net discrete tax adjustments for the three-month period ended September 26, 2025, as a valuation allowance recorded on certain foreign operating losses was offset by benefits from the remeasurement of deferred taxes in a jurisdiction which enacted a tax rate change. Discrete tax adjustments and other tax-related adjustments for the nine-month period ended September 26, 2025, include the impact of net discrete tax charges of $12 million related primarily to a valuation allowance recorded on certain foreign operating losses and changes in uncertain tax positions, partially offset by the remeasurement of deferred taxes in a jurisdiction which enacted a tax rate change and the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions due to the expiration of statutes of limitations. Sales Growth by Segment, Core Sales Growth (Decline) by Segment and Core Sales Growth Excluding Respiratory Testing | % Change Three-Month Period Ended September 25, 2026 vs. Comparable 2025 Period | | | Segments | Total Company | | Biotechnology | | Life Sciences | | Diagnostics Total sales growth (GAAP) | 8.5 % | | 0.5 % | | 4.0 % | | 17.0 % Impact of: | | | | | | | Acquisitions/divestitures | (6.5) % | | — % | | — % | | (16.5) % Currency exchange rates | — % | | 0.5 % | | 0.5 % | | — % Tariff refunds to customers | 1.0 % | | 4.0 % | | — % | | — % Core sales growth (non-GAAP) | 3.0 % | | 5.0 % | | 4.5 % | | 0.5 % Impact of respiratory testing | 2.5 % | | | | | | 6.5 % Core sales growth excluding respiratory testing (non-GAAP) | 5.5 % | | | | | | 7.0 % | % Change Nine-Month Period Ended September 25, 2026 vs. Comparable 2025 Period | | | Segments | Total Company | | Biotechnology | | Life Sciences | | Diagnostics Total sales growth (GAAP) | 6.0 % | | 5.0 % | | 4.5 % | | 7.5 % Impact of: | | | | | | | Acquisitions/divestitures | (3.0) % | | — % | | — % | | (7.0) % Currency exchange rates | (1.5) % | | (1.5) % | | (1.0) % | | (1.0) % Tariff refunds to customers | 0.5 % | | 1.0 % | | — % | | — % Core sales growth (decline) (non-GAAP) | 2.0 % | | 4.5 % | | 3.5 % | | (0.5) % Impact of respiratory testing | 2.5 % | | | | | | 5.5 % Core sales growth excluding respiratory testing (non-GAAP) | 4.5 % | | | | | | 5.0 % Note: Beginning with the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2026, the Company is excluding from core sales growth and core sales excluding respiratory testing the impact, if any, of tariff refunds received by the Company (related to tariff payments made in prior periods) that are returned or to be returned to customers ("tariff refunds to customers"). Non-GAAP Forward-Looking Information | % Change Three- Month Period Ending December 31, 2026 vs. Comparable 2025 Period | | % Change Year Ending December 31, 2026 vs. Comparable 2025 Period Core sales growth (non-GAAP) | | | Biotechnology | +Mid-single digit | | +Mid-single digit Life Sciences | +4.0% - +5.0% | | +3.0% - +4.0% Diagnostics | +Up slightly | | ~Flat Total Company | ~+3.0% | | ~+2.5% Impact of respiratory testing | ~+150 basis points | | +Low-single digit Core sales growth excluding respiratory testing (non-GAAP) | +4.0% - +5.0% | | +Mid-single digit Note: For the impact of respiratory testing, a positive amount represents a year-over-year headwind to core sales growth, and a negative amount represents a year-over-year tailwind to core sales growth. | Three-Month Period EndingDecember 31, 2026 | | Year EndingDecember 31, 2026 Adjusted operating profit margin (non-GAAP) | ~29.5 % | | Adjusted diluted net earnings per common share from continuing operations (non-GAAP) | | | $8.57 - $8.62 Other Forward-Looking Information | Three-Month Period EndingDecember 31, 2026 | | Year EndingDecember 31, 2026 Impact of currency exchange rates on sales J | ~Flat | | ~+1.0% Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets ($ in millions) | ~$(500) | | ~$(1,900) Corporate expense K ($ in millions) | ~$(90) | | ~$(355) Interest expense, net L ($ in millions) | ~$(120) | | ~$(305) Effective tax rate | ~17.0 % | | ~17.0 % Average adjusted diluted shares (in millions) | ~707 | | ~708 | J | Impact of currency exchange rates on sales for the fourth quarter and full year 2026 assumes the currency exchange rates in effect as of September 25, 2026. | K | Corporate expense represents the operating profit (GAAP) for the Company's Other segment, which consists of unallocated corporate costs and other costs not considered part of management's evaluation of reportable segment operating performance, less approximately $200 million in both periods of stock-based compensation expense associated with the special equity awards, which is inclusive in both periods of a $185 million charge related to certain of the special equity awards that have been canceled. | L | Interest expense, net is defined as interest expense net of interest income. This line item is an assumption rather than a forecast. The estimated interest expense, net is calculated assuming the currency exchange rates in effect as of September 25, 2026 are to prevail throughout the remainder of the period indicated and no change in the amount of commercial paper outstanding. Historical Sales (Decline) Growth, Core Sales Growth and Core Sales Growth Excluding Respiratory Testing | % Change Three-Month Period Ended vs. Comparable 2024 Period | | % Change Year Ended December 31, 2025 vs. Comparable 2024 Period | | % Change Three-Month Period Ended vs. Comparable 2025 Period | March 28, 2025 | | June 27, 2025 | | September 26, 2025 | | December 31, 2025 | | | March 27, 2026 | | June 26, 2026 Total sales (decline) growth (GAAP) | (1.0) % | | 3.5 % | | 4.5 % | | 4.5 % | | 3.0 % | | 3.5 % | | 5.5 % Impact of: | | | | | | | | | | | | | Acquisitions /divestitures | (0.5) % | | — % | | — % | | 0.5 % | | — % | | — % | | (1.5) % Currency exchange rates | 1.5 % | | (2.0) % | | (1.5) % | | (2.5) % | | (1.0) % | | (3.0) % | | (1.0) % Core sales growth (non-GAAP) | — % | | 1.5 % | | 3.0 % | | 2.5 % | | 2.0 % | | 0.5 % | | 3.0 % Impact of respiratory testing | 1.0 % | | 0.5 % | | (0.5) % | | 1.5 % | | 0.5 % | | 2.5 % | | 1.5 % Core sales growth excluding respiratory testing (non-GAAP) | 1.0 % | | 2.0 % | | 2.5 % | | 4.0 % | | 2.5 % | | 3.0 % | | 4.5 % Note: For the impact of respiratory testing, a positive amount represents a year-over-year headwind to core sales growth, and a negative amount represents a year-over-year tailwind to core sales growth. Historical and Forward-Looking Respiratory Testing Sales ($ in millions) | Three-Month Period Ended | | Year Ended December 31, 2025 M | | Three-Month Period Ended | | Three- Month Period Ending December 31, 2026 | | Year Ending December 31, 2026 | March 28, 2025 | | June 27, 2025 | | September 26, 2025 | | December 31, 2025 | | | March 27, 2026 | | June 26, 2026 | | September 25, 2026 | | Respiratory testing sales N | ~$650 | | ~$300 | | ~$500 | | ~$500 | | ~$1,900 | | ~$500 | | ~$250 | | ~$350 | | ~$400 | | ~$1,500 | M | Respiratory testing sales amounts for the relevant three-month periods may not add to the year-to-date period amount due to rounding. N | Actual respiratory testing sales are rounded to the nearest $50 million. Cash Flow from Continuing Operations, Free Cash Flow from Continuing Operations and Related Measures ($ in millions) | Three-Month Period Ended | | Year-over- Year Change | | Nine-Month Period Ended | | Year-over- Year Change | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 | | | September 25, 2026 | | September 26, 2025 | Total Cash Flow from Continuing Operations: | | | | | | | | | | | Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations (GAAP) | $ 1,886 | | $ 1,662 | | | | $ 4,742 | | $ 4,299 | | Total cash used in investing activities for continuing operations (GAAP) | $ (300) | | $ (312) | | | | $ (10,696) | | $ (812) | | Total cash (used in) provided by financing activities for continuing operations (GAAP) | $ (262) | | $ (2,781) | | | | $ 7,057 | | $ (4,283) | | | | | | | | | | | | | Free Cash Flow from Continuing Operations: | | | | | | | | | | | Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations (GAAP) | $ 1,886 | | $ 1,662 | | ~ 13.5 % | | $ 4,742 | | $ 4,299 | | ~ 10.5 % Less: payments for additions to property, plant & equipment (capital expenditures) (GAAP) | (255) | | (292) | | | | (761) | | (785) | | Plus: proceeds from sales of property, plant & equipment (capital disposals) (GAAP) | 1 | | — | | | | 1 | | 10 | | Free cash flow from continuing operations (non-GAAP) | $ 1,632 | | $ 1,370 | | ~ 19.0 % | | $ 3,982 | | $ 3,524 | | ~ 13.0 % | | | | | | | | | | | Operating Cash Flow from Continuing Operations to Net Earnings from Continuing Operations Conversion Ratio: | | | | | | | | | | | Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations (GAAP) | $ 1,886 | | $ 1,662 | | | | $ 4,742 | | $ 4,299 | | Net earnings from continuing operations (GAAP) | 1,207 | | 908 | | | | 3,106 | | 2,417 | | Operating cash flow from continuing operations to net earnings from continuing operations conversion ratio (GAAP) | 1.56 | | 1.83 | | | | 1.53 | | 1.78 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Free Cash Flow from Continuing Operations to Net Earnings from Continuing Operations Conversion Ratio: | | | | | | | | | | | Free cash flow from continuing operations from above (non-GAAP) | $ 1,632 | | $ 1,370 | | | | $ 3,982 | | $ 3,524 | | Net earnings from continuing operations (GAAP) | 1,207 | | 908 | | | | 3,106 | | 2,417 | | Free cash flow from continuing operations to net earnings from continuing operations conversion ratio (non-GAAP) | 1.35 | | 1.51 | | | | 1.28 | | 1.46 | | We define free cash flow as operating cash flows, less payments for additions to property, plant and equipment ("capital expenditures") plus the proceeds from sales of plant, property and equipment ("capital disposals"). Statement Regarding Non-GAAP Measures Each of the non-GAAP measures set forth above should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for or superior to, the comparable GAAP measure, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Management believes that these measures provide useful information to investors by offering additional ways of viewing Danaher Corporation's ("Danaher" or the "Company") results that, when reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measure, help our investors: - with respect to the profitability-related non-GAAP measures, understand the long-term profitability trends of our business and compare our profitability to prior and future periods and to our peers; - with respect to the non-GAAP measures related to core sales, identify underlying growth trends in our business and compare our sales performance with prior and future periods and to our peers; and - with respect to free cash flow (the "FCF Measure"), understand Danaher's ability to generate cash without external financings, strengthen its balance sheet, invest in its business and grow its business through acquisitions and other strategic opportunities (although a limitation of free cash flow is that it does not take into account the Company's debt service requirements and other non-discretionary expenditures, and as a result the entire free cash flow amount is not necessarily available for discretionary expenditures). Management uses the non-GAAP measures referenced above to measure the Company's operating and financial performance, and uses core sales and non-GAAP measures similar to Adjusted Diluted Net Earnings Per Common Share From Continuing Operations, Adjusted Operating Profit and the FCF Measure in the Company's executive compensation program. The items excluded from the non-GAAP measures set forth above have been excluded for the following reasons: - With respect to the profitability-related non-GAAP measures: - Amortization of Intangible Assets: We exclude the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because the amount and timing of such charges are significantly impacted by the timing, size, number and nature of the acquisitions we consummate. While we have a history of significant acquisition activity we do not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle, and the amount of an acquisition's purchase price allocated to intangible assets and the related amortization term are unique to each acquisition and can vary significantly from acquisition to acquisition. Exclusion of this amortization expense facilitates more consistent comparisons of operating results over time between our newly acquired and long-held businesses, and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies. We believe however that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets contribute to sales generation and that intangible asset amortization related to past acquisitions will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized. - Restructuring Charges: We exclude costs incurred pursuant to discrete restructuring plans that are fundamentally different (in terms of the size, strategic nature and planning requirements, as well as the inconsistent frequency, of such plans) from the ongoing productivity improvements that result from application of the Danaher Business System. Because these restructuring plans are incremental to the core activities that arise in the ordinary course of our business and we believe are not indicative of Danaher's ongoing operating costs in a given period, we exclude these costs to facilitate a more consistent comparison of operating results over time. - Other Adjustments: With respect to the other items excluded from the profitability-related non-GAAP measures, we exclude these items because they are of a nature and/or size that occur with inconsistent frequency, occur for reasons that may be unrelated to Danaher's commercial performance during the period and/or we believe that such items may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult. - With respect to core sales and core sales excluding respiratory testing, (1) we exclude the impact of currency translation because it is not under management's control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends, (2) we exclude the effect of acquisitions and divested product lines because the timing, size, number and nature of such transactions can vary significantly from period-to-period and between us and our peers, which we believe may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult and (3) beginning with the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q in the third quarter of 2026, we exclude tariff refunds to customers to help customers better understand underlying growth trends in the Company's business that otherwise may be obscured by such item. - With respect to core sales excluding respiratory testing, we exclude the impact of revenues related to the sale of respiratory testing products in the Company's molecular diagnostics business in the Diagnostics segment. Demand for respiratory testing depends significantly on the severity levels of influenza and influenza-like illness in a given period, and these severity levels are not under management's control. As a result, presenting core sales on a basis that combines respiratory testing revenue with other Diagnostics business revenues can obscure underlying growth trends within the Diagnostics businesses. The Company believes that this measure complements core sales, enhances investors' understanding of the historical and anticipated performance of the Diagnostics businesses as a whole, including with respect to underlying growth trends and facilitates comparisons of period-to-period performance. - With respect to the FCF Measure, we deduct payments for additions to property, plant and equipment (net of the proceeds from capital disposals) to demonstrate the amount of operating cash flow for the period that remains after accounting for the Company's capital expenditure requirements. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/danaher-reports-third-quarter-2026-results-302914824.html

- Interested in Danaher Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. - Danaher exceeded third-quarter expectations: Sales reached $6.6 billion, core revenue growth excluding respiratory testing accelerated to 5.5%, adjusted operating margin rose to 29%, and adjusted EPS increased 11.5% to $2.11. - New CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery is prioritizing commercial execution, innovation, talent and disciplined capital allocation, with a focus on growing existing businesses, expanding customer access and using AI-enabled laboratory and diagnostic technologies. - Danaher raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $8.57–$8.62 and expects fourth-quarter core revenue growth excluding respiratory revenue of 4%–5%. The company sees 4%–5% as a reasonable starting point for 2027 growth, while bioprocessing reshoring could become a larger opportunity beginning in 2028. - The Often-Missed Corner of Healthcare That Wall Street Is Loving Danaher (NYSE:DHR) reported third-quarter 2026 results that exceeded its expectations, citing improved market conditions, commercial execution and operational performance across its Biotechnology, Life Sciences and Diagnostics businesses. Sales totaled $6.6 billion for the quarter. Core revenue growth excluding respiratory testing revenue was 5.5%, accelerating 100 basis points from the second quarter. Respiratory revenue created an approximately 250-basis-point headwind, resulting in reported core revenue growth of 3%. → The AI Sell-Off Continues—These 3 Stocks Keep Raising Guidance Anyway - An AI Play Hiding in Plain Sight: A Look at Johnson Controls Adjusted operating profit margin rose 110 basis points to 29%, aided primarily by operational execution and a modest benefit from tariff refunds received during the quarter. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased about 11.5% to $2.11. The company generated $1.6 billion of free cash flow in the quarter and $4 billion through the first nine months of the year. President and Chief Executive Officer Julie Sawyer Montgomery, in her first earnings call as CEO, said the company's objective is to become the "defining leader in Life Sciences and Diagnostics" by gaining share more consistently, delivering profitable growth and helping customers improve patient outcomes. → Tesla's Roadster Reveal Hints at 2 Much Bigger Moves - 3 Stocks Offering Strong Value and Stability Montgomery said Danaher's focus is shifting from portfolio reshaping toward generating more growth from its existing businesses. She outlined four strategic priorities: commercial excellence, innovation, talent and disciplined capital allocation. The company's most immediate opportunity is commercial execution, according to Montgomery. She said Danaher intends to preserve the customer intimacy and accountability of its operating-company structure while making it easier for customers to access capabilities across the broader organization. → Luxury's Middle Market Is Cracking—These 3 Stocks Could Win In Diagnostics, she said coordinated engagement by leaders from different businesses with major customers has created "several hundred millions of dollars of opportunity" in a short period. Montgomery said Danaher views higher core growth, profitable core growth and "unambiguous share gain" as the measures of progress. Montgomery also emphasized artificial intelligence as an opportunity both internally and for customers. Danaher recently announced an AI-powered autonomous laboratory at Abcam that combines AI, robotics and technologies from Cytiva, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, Genedata, IDT and Molecular Devices. The company said the connected design, make and test workflow is designed to help researchers move from an idea to a validated reagent up to eight times faster and produce up to 10 times higher volume than existing models. The company also announced a collaboration with NVIDIA focused on connecting Danaher instruments, automation and software with NVIDIA AI and advanced-computing capabilities. Montgomery said the company is also working with Anthropic on standards intended to make instruments easier to connect with other agents and instruments. Biotechnology core revenue increased 5% in the third quarter. Bioprocessing revenue grew toward the upper end of the mid-single-digit range, exceeding the company's expectations. Consumables increased mid-single digits, led by upstream consumables, while equipment revenue grew low single digits. Bioprocessing orders increased in the mid-teens, led by upstream consumables and reagents. Chief Financial Officer Matt Gugino said Danaher maintained its expectation for mid-single-digit bioprocessing core revenue growth for the full year. He said the company continues to view bioprocessing as a long-term high-single-digit growth business, supported by commercial production activity and a pipeline of new programs. Life Sciences core revenue rose 4.5%. Pall's applied filtration business grew mid-single digits, driven by aerospace and microelectronics demand. Life Sciences instruments also increased mid-single digits, with SCIEX benefiting from pharma and biopharma demand, improving U.S. academic spending and momentum for products including the ZenoTOF 8600. Beckman Coulter Life Sciences reported strong performance, including increased demand for AI-enabled automation solutions and services. Collectively, Life Sciences consumables businesses grew low single digits, with IDT benefiting from molecular residual disease and next-generation sequencing products, while Abcam experienced improving academic demand and traction with pharma and biopharma customers. Diagnostics core revenue excluding respiratory testing increased 7%. Respiratory revenue represented an approximately 650-basis-point headwind, leaving total segment core growth of 50 basis points. Clinical Diagnostics businesses grew mid-single digits, led by Leica Biosystems' momentum in digital pathology and advanced staining. Beckman Coulter Diagnostics delivered its highest core-growth quarter in more than two years, according to the company. Cepheid's non-respiratory molecular diagnostics business grew low double digits, driven by group A strep, virology and sexual-health assays. Respiratory revenue was approximately $350 million, declining year over year due mainly to lower global infection rates, though it was modestly above the company's expectations as customers purchased ahead of the respiratory season. For the fourth quarter, Danaher expects core revenue growth excluding respiratory revenue of 4% to 5%. Respiratory revenue is expected to be an approximately 150-basis-point headwind, while adjusted operating profit margin is projected at about 29.5%. The company increased its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $8.57 to $8.62, from a prior range of $8.45 to $8.60. Gugino said the new range reflects third-quarter outperformance and represents double-digit year-over-year EPS growth. For 2027, Danaher said it views 4% to 5% core revenue growth excluding respiratory revenue as the appropriate starting point based on current market conditions, though formal guidance will be provided in January. The company is using $1.5 billion in respiratory revenue as its planning assumption for both 2026 and as a starting point for 2027, while noting that seasonal flu variability can affect that figure. On acquisitions, Montgomery said M&A remains Danaher's preferred capital-allocation approach and that the company will continue to seek strategically compounding transactions under its established investment criteria. She said Masimo and StatLab, which Leica Biosystems acquired in early fourth quarter, are examples of acquisitions intended to strengthen the Diagnostics platform rather than signal a broader move into medical technology. Masimo delivered high-single-digit revenue growth in its first full quarter as part of Danaher, according to Montgomery. She said integration is progressing with cost-savings and commercial-synergy opportunities, while Masimo recently received FDA clearance for its smartSET platform to help detect atrial fibrillation. Danaher also said reshoring activity in bioprocessing is currently centered on brownfield projects, while larger greenfield projects remain largely in planning stages. Montgomery said the company sees the opportunity as potentially reaching $1 billion in the U.S., with the more significant revenue impact expected to begin in 2028 and develop over several years. Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that develops products, services and solutions for the life sciences, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. Its offerings help researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare providers and other organizations conduct scientific research, develop and manufacture medicines, and diagnose disease. The company operates through businesses that provide bioprocessing equipment and technologies, laboratory instruments, consumables, analytical tools and clinical diagnostic systems. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Danaher Q3 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for October 2026.

Danaher (DHR) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.11 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.89 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +9.90%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this industrial and medical device maker would post earnings of $1.84 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.94, delivering a surprise of +5.43%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Danaher, which belongs to the Zacks Medical Services industry, posted revenues of $6.55 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.10%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $6.05 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Danaher shares have lost about 2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.4%. While Danaher has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Danaher was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.57 on $7.51 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $8.53 on $26.33 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Medical Services is currently in the bottom 34% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, HCA Healthcare (HCA), is yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026. The results are expected to be released on October 27. This hospital operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of $6.75 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.2% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. HCA Healthcare's revenues are expected to be $19.38 billion, up 1.1% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Danaher Corporation (DHR) : Free Stock Analysis Report HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) disclosed plans on Wednesday to separate its nutrition business into a publicly traded entity as the company, along with Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) and Danaher (DHR), reported annual gains in their third-quarter results. The spinoff will allow the healthcare firm and the new independent company to pursue specific objectives to their distinct business models. The nutrition company is expected to have $8.5 billion in annual sales and will be led by Daniel Salvadori, currently president of established pharmaceuticals and nutritional products at Abbott, as chief executive. "This separation will benefit both companies, setting each one up for maximum success in its respective market," Abbott CEO Robert Ford said in a statement. "Our nutrition business has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for healthy nutrition, and it will be better positioned as an independent company to more effectively direct its strategic resources across its priorities." Abbott aims to separate the nutrition division through a distribution of the proposed independent company's shares to its shareholders. Abbott stockholders will own shares in both the company and the new nutrition entity. The spinoff, which requires approval from regulators, is expected to be completed by the end of next year. Abbott expects to incur one-time charges, which will be estimated at a later time, related to the deal during periods before the separation, it said. Separately, Abbott reported adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share for the quarter ended September, up from $1.30 a year earlier, in line with the consensus on FactSet. Sales climbed 15% to $13.01 billion, topping the Street's view for $12.99 billion. The nutrition division recorded a 5.1% annual gain in sales to $2.26 billion. For 2026, the company now expects adjusted EPS to come in between $5.50 and $5.55, compared with its prior projections of $5.45 to $5.60. For the ongoing three-month period, it sees the metric coming at $1.62 to $1.67. The Street is looking for non-GAAP EPS of $1.64 and $5.52 for the fourth quarter and full year, respectively. Thermo Fisher recorded a 15% year over year increase in its fiscal third-quarter adjusted EPS to $6.68, while revenue inclined 9% to $12.14 billion. Both metrics came in ahead of average analyst estimates on FactSet. The medical-device manufacturer now anticipates adjusted EPS to be in a range of $25.13 to $25.43 for fiscal 2026, representing annual growth of 10% to 11%, CEO Marc Casper said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. Revenue is pegged at $47.7 billion to $48.2 billion, reflecting a yearly gain of 7% to 8%, Casper said. The market's current view is for non-GAAP EPS of $25.14 and sales growth of 7.5%. Danaher's adjusted EPS increased to $2.11 for the three months through Sept. 25 from $1.89 the year before, ahead of the $1.92 consensus. Revenue improved 8.5% to $6.55 billion, but were just shy of expectations for $6.56 billion. The company forecasts adjusted EPS of $8.57 to $8.62 for the current fiscal year, up from its previous guidance of $8.45 to $8.60. The Street is looking for $8.50. For the ongoing quarter, it projects adjusted core revenue, excluding respiratory sales, to rise by 4% to 5%.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. - Revenue: Q3 2026 sales of $6.6 billion. - Core Revenue Growth: Up 3% overall; up 5.5% excluding respiratory revenue (100 bps acceleration from Q2). - Respiratory Revenue: Approximately $350 million in Q3, an approximately 250 bps headwind to core growth. - Gross Profit Margin: 58.5% in Q3. - Adjusted Operating Profit Margin: 29%, up 110 bps year-over-year. - Adjusted Diluted EPS: $2.11, up approximately 11.5% year-over-year. - Free Cash Flow: $1.6 billion in Q3; $4 billion year-to-date, with 128% free cash flow to net income conversion ratio. - Geographic Core Revenue: Developed markets flat (Western Europe mid-single-digit growth; North America down low single-digits); high-growth markets up approximately 10%; China up high single-digits. - Biotechnology Segment: Core revenue up 5%; bioprocessing up toward upper end of mid-single-digits; discovery and medical down low single-digits; orders up mid-teens. - Life Sciences Segment: Core revenue up 4.5%; Pall applied filtration up mid-single-digits; life sciences instruments up mid-single-digits; life sciences consumables up low single-digits. - Diagnostics Segment: Core revenue up 50 bps; up 7% excluding respiratory (approximately 650 bps respiratory headwind); clinical diagnostics up mid-single-digits; Cepheid non-respiratory up low double-digits. - Q4 2026 Outlook: Core revenue growth excluding respiratory of 4%5%; respiratory an approximately 150 bps headwind; adjusted operating profit margin approximately 29.5%. - Full-Year 2026 EPS Guidance: Adjusted diluted net EPS raised to $8.57$8.62 (prior $8.45$8.60), representing double-digit year-over-year growth. - 2027 Initial Perspective: Core revenue growth excluding respiratory of 4%5% as starting point. - Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with DHR. - Is DHR fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: October 21, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. - Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR) delivered Q3 2026 results ahead of expectations, with core revenue growth excluding respiratory at 5.5% and adjusted operating profit margin near 30%. - The company saw improved momentum across its businesses, with biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics core revenues (excluding respiratory) all growing mid-single-digits or better. - Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR) raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $8.57-$8.62, reflecting double-digit year-over-year growth. - Bioprocessing orders grew mid-teens in Q3, with strength in upstream consumables and resins, supporting confidence in high single-digit long-term growth. - The acquisitions of Masimo and StatLab are performing well, with Masimo tracking ahead of expectations and delivering high single-digit revenue growth, and StatLab strengthening the pathology workflow. - Respiratory revenue represented a significant headwind, reducing Q3 core revenue growth by approximately 250 basis points, and is expected to remain a headwind in Q4. - Academic demand remains below historic levels, although it improved sequentially. - North America core revenues were down low single-digits, primarily due to lower respiratory revenue. - Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR) expects full-year 2026 core revenue growth of only 3% due to respiratory headwinds, with Q4 core growth excluding respiratory guided to 4-5%, a moderation from Q3's 5.5%. - The company's 2027 outlook of 4-5% core growth excluding respiratory is not an acceleration from recent trends, raising questions about the pace of recovery. Q: As the new CEO, how are you balancing Danaher's legacy of operational excellence with the need to evolve the playbook? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said she will preserve Danaher's differentiatorstalent, portfolio, and the Danaher Business Systemwhile evolving for today's higher-growth scientific markets where the same customers buy across multiple operating companies. She emphasized becoming a "more connected Danaher," keeping the operating company structure's accountability and customer intimacy while making it easier for customers to access the full breadth of Danaher, with "unambiguous share gain" as the true report card. Q: Which of your strategic priorities will have the greatest near-term impact, and what metrics should investors watch? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery pointed to commercial excellence as the most immediate opportunity, driving simple but powerful expectations for sales teams that leaders inspect through DBS. She cited diagnostics "connected selling" that has created several hundred millions of dollars of opportunity in a short time, and said the report card will be higher profitable core growth and unambiguous share gain. Q: Why is the 2027 core growth framework only 4% to 5% ex-respiratory when bioprocessing orders, biotech recovery, and easing China headwinds suggest acceleration? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said Danaher has delivered 4% to 5% core growth ex-respiratory over the past several quarters, making it a reasonable starting point based on current in-market conditions. She noted she is only weeks into the CEO role and wants to work through the typical Q4 planning process before providing a more quantitative outlook in January. Q: Should bioprocessing push toward high single-digit or low double-digit growth in fiscal 2027 given mid-teens order growth? A: CFO Matt Gugino said full-year 2026 bioprocessing expectations remain mid-single-digit core growth, with Q3 at the upper end of that range and mid-teens order growth led by upstream consumables and resins. He said order trends support improving bioprocessing growth rates in 2027, and CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery added confidence in bioprocessing as a high single-digit long-term business, citing record monoclonal antibodies, biosimilars, newer modalities, and reshoring. Q: Why cut respiratory expectations by another $100 million when Q3 came in above expectationsis that conservatism or new data? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said Danaher is planning for $1.5 billion in respiratory revenue this year and views that as the right starting point for 2027, reflecting a "down the middle of the road" flu season. She noted weekly trends have run below last year with only a recent tick up, and that the season cannot really be called until the ILI curve exceeds 3%, typically in late November or early December. Q: How are you thinking about M&A and capital deployment, and does Masimo signal a MedTech tilt? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said M&A remains the bias for capital allocation, targeting strategically compounding deals with robust investment criteria across all three platforms. She said Masimo is not a MedTech play but a continuous diagnostic that compounds with the diagnostics business, citing commercial synergies and scientific conversations combining continuous monitoring with biomarkers. Q: How do you drive commercial execution change at pacedo compensation schemes or people need to change? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said the first step is the "commercial standard of condition," using DBS to set extremely clear expectations for sales teams, now doubled down in diagnostics with other platforms holding workshops, and experimenting with AI to simplify coaching and inspection. On connected selling, she said incentives must never be hurt when solutions teams engage customers, and she is willing to double-pay on incentives given the share-of-wallet opportunity. Q: How is Masimo performing, and how should we think about its contribution next year? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said Masimo delivered high single-digit growth in Q3, its first full quarter as part of Danaher, with integration progressing extremely well. Over 10 Kaizens have been completed with more planned, a healthy funnel of commercial synergies is developing, and Danaher is also learning from Masimo's innovation pace and commercial techniques. Q: What are you seeing in bioprocessing equipment orders and reshoring, and when could reshoring hit the P&L? A: CFO Matt Gugino said bioprocessing posted another quarter of mid-teens order growth led by upstream consumables and resins, with equipment orders year-to-date in strong double digits and backlog building. CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said reshoring is playing out largely as expected, with modest brownfield activity today and larger greenfield projects still in planning, positioning it as a potential billion-dollar U.S. market opportunity mostly starting in 2028. Q: Where are we in the life sciences recovery across academic, biotech, and industrial/semis end markets? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said life sciences grew 4.5% in Q3, beating internal expectations for the third consecutive quarter, with large pharma and biopharma robust, biotech funding reading through, and academic demand below historic levels but improving sequentially. Clinical and applied markets remained strong, including microelectronics at Pall, and early AI-driven workflow demand is showing up first in automation at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. Q: How is Danaher deploying AI with DBS, and what is the strategy behind the NVIDIA partnership and autonomous lab? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said Danaher has all five building blocks for AI-driven discoveryinstruments, consumables, automation, software, and scaleand is seeing a modest benefit to orders and revenue today. The first AI-powered autonomous lab at Abcam connects AI-designed experiments to physical reagent making and testing in a closed loop, delivering 8x faster discovery and 10x productivity, while the NVIDIA collaboration targets intelligent instruments, edge computing, and digital twins. Q: How do you keep the M&A flywheel moving without freezing up after some underperforming deals? A: CEO Julie Sawyer Montgomery said Danaher does not want to freeze, as capital allocation remains a priority with strong M&A processes and teams. She acknowledged lessons learned from recent deals that have not performed as well, but said the focus is on strategically compounding M&A with robust return profiles, and she expects recent deals to deliver strong returns.

Diversified science and technology company Danaher (NYSE:DHR) met Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q3 2026, with sales up 8.3% year on year to $6.55 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.11 per share was 10% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Danaher? Find out in our full research report. - Revenue: $6.55 billion vs analyst estimates of $6.56 billion (8.3% year-on-year growth, in line) - Adjusted EPS: $2.11 vs analyst estimates of $1.92 (10% beat) - Management slightly raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $8.59 at the midpoint - Operating Margin: 19%, in line with the same quarter last year - Free Cash Flow Margin: 24.9%, up from 22.6% in the same quarter last year - Organic Revenue rose 3% year on year (beat) - Market Capitalization: $157.6 billion Julie Sawyer Montgomery, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We delivered better-than-expected third quarter revenue, earnings and cash flow, and are encouraged by the improving trends we saw across our end markets. The continued acceleration in core revenue growth excluding respiratory revenue, together with DBS-driven execution drove double-digit adjusted EPS growth and underscored our ability to convert improving demand into strong financial performance." Born from a real estate investment trust that transformed into a manufacturing powerhouse, Danaher (NYSE:DHR) is a global science and technology company that provides specialized equipment, software, and services for biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics. A company's long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Unfortunately, Danaher struggled to consistently increase demand as its $25.61 billion of sales for the trailing 12 months was close to its revenue five years ago. This was below our standards and suggests it's a lower quality business. Long-term growth is the most important, but within healthcare, a half-decade historical view may miss new innovations or demand cycles. Danaher's annualized revenue growth of 3.9% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, which is encouraging. We can better understand the company's sales dynamics by analyzing its organic revenue, which strips out one-time events like acquisitions and currency fluctuations that don't accurately reflect its fundamentals. Over the last two years, Danaher's organic revenue averaged 2.3% year-on-year growth. Because this number is lower than its two-year revenue growth, we can see that some mixture of acquisitions and foreign exchange rates boosted its headline results. This quarter, Danaher grew its revenue by 8.3% year on year, and its $6.55 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street's estimates. Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 9.5% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is particularly healthy for a company of its scale and implies its newer products and services will catalyze better top-line performance. WHILE YOU'RE HERE: The Next Palantir? One satellite company captures images of every point on Earth. Every single day. The Pentagon wants it. Hedge funds are using it to beat earnings. You've probably never heard of it. This is what the early days of Palantir looked like before it became a giant. Same playbook. Different technology. If you missed Palantir, you need to see this. Claim The Stock Ticker for Free HERE. Adjusted operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income (the bottom line) excluding the impact of non-recurring expenses, taxes, and interest on debt - metrics less connected to business fundamentals. Danaher has been an efficient company over the last five years. It was one of the more profitable businesses in the healthcare sector, boasting an average adjusted operating margin of 29.6%. Looking at the trend in its profitability, Danaher's adjusted operating margin decreased by 8.8 percentage points over the last five years. The company's two-year trajectory also shows it failed to get its profitability back to the peak as its margin fell by 2.4 percentage points. This performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows its expenses were rising and it couldn't pass those costs onto its customers. This quarter, Danaher generated an adjusted operating margin profit margin of 19%, down 8.9 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue. Revenue trends explain a company's historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth — for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions. Sadly for Danaher, its EPS declined by 2.5% annually over the last five years while its revenue was flat. This tells us the company struggled because its fixed cost base made it difficult to adjust to choppy demand. We can take a deeper look into Danaher's earnings to better understand the drivers of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Danaher's adjusted operating margin declined by 8.8 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don't tell us as much about a company's fundamentals. In Q3, Danaher reported adjusted EPS of $2.11, up from $1.89 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts' estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Danaher's full-year EPS to grow 8.5% from $8.34 to $9.05. It was good to see Danaher beat analysts' EPS expectations this quarter. We were also happy its full-year EPS guidance narrowly outperformed Wall Street's estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock remained flat at $225.90 immediately following the results. Is Danaher an attractive investment opportunity at the current price? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free.