Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Can Sustained Product Demand Drive BDX Stock Before Q4 Earnings?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Becton Dickinson and Company (BDX - Free Report) , popularly known as BD, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 results on Nov. 7, before market open.

In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) of $3.50 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.7%. Over the trailing four quarters, its earnings outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on three occasions and matched once, delivering an earnings surprise of 6.2%, on average.

Let’s check out the factors that have shaped BDX’s performance prior to this announcement.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Factors to Note Before BDX Reports

BD Life Sciences

On third-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings call in August, BD’s management confirmed witnessing solid growth in the Life Sciences segment. The segment’s performance was driven by Integrated Diagnostic Solutions, with strong growth in specimen management. Per management, this reflected both increased utilization and customer upgrades to higher-value products to provide an enhanced patient experience. This trend is likely to have continued in the fiscal fourth quarter, thereby driving the segment’s performance.

BD’s Biosciences business unit’s global commercial release of the three- and four-laser additions to the BD FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter family is likely to have witnessed robust customer adoption during the fiscal fourth quarter, thereby contributing to segmental revenues.

In July, BD announced a global collaboration agreement with Quest Diagnostics to develop, manufacture and commercialize flow cytometry-based companion diagnostics to help select the best treatment for patients with cancer and other diseases. This raises our optimism about the stock.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the BD Life Sciences segment’s revenues is currently pegged at $1.37 billion, up 2.6% year over year.

BD Interventional

During the fiscal third quarter, the segment was driven by strength in the Urology & Critical Care business unit, with continued momentum in the PureWick franchise, which was the 28th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in the PureWick platform. Management believes that its recently-launched next-generation female external catheter, PureWick Flex, is expected to support the continued momentum. PureWick Flex delivers improved performance for a wider range of body types in acute and home care settings.

We expect the robust adoption of BD’s products to have continued in the fiscal fourth quarter on the back of sustained demand, thereby significantly pushing up segmental revenues.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment’s revenues is currently pegged at $1.25 billion, up 4.2% year over year.

Other Factors to Note

The BD Medical segment’s connected medication management strategy witnessed strong momentum in the fiscal third quarter, where it saw another new all-time record for the number of Alaris pumps shipped in a quarter. As stated by management on the earnings call, the scale of upgrading the fleet was encouraging while receiving positive customer feedback and gaining a market position in the quarter.

The BD Medical segment’s Pharmaceutical Systems business’ biologics drug delivery continued to register strength in the fiscal third quarter, and management sees it as a significant growth opportunity, including GLP-1s.
BD is currently combining AI, automation and robotics to improve the core processes that run healthcare. Per management, BD currently has a $4 billion-plus business in healthcare automation and informatics AI, which it expects to increase to over $5 billion following the acquisition of Critical Care. This is likely to expand BD’s foothold in the smart critical care space and create new opportunities to combine AI-driven monitoring with systems, such as infusion technologies, to simplify nursing workflow and improve patient care. The buyout was completed in September. These look very promising for the stock. 

However, BD’s strong geographic performance in the fiscal third quarter was partially offset by a decrease in China from continued market dynamics. The current unstable macroeconomic business environment (especially in China), continued inflationary pressures and labor dynamics are likely to have weighed on the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenues, raising our apprehension. Also, transitory market dynamics across the industry, including customer inventory destocking, are likely to have continued to weigh on BD’s fiscal fourth-quarter performance.

BDX’s Estimate Picture

For fourth-quarter fiscal 2024, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $5.35 billion, implying an improvement of 5.2% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

The consensus estimate for EPS is pegged at $3.77, indicating an increase of 10.2% from the prior-year period’s reported number.

What Our Model Suggests

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for BD this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat.

Earnings ESP: BD has an Earnings ESP of +0.32%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Other Stocks Worth a Look

Here are a few other medical stocks worth considering, as these also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Exact Sciences Corporation (EXAS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +39.50% and a Zacks Rank of 1. EXAS has an estimated long-term growth rate of 37.1%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Exact Sciences’ earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and matched once, with the average surprise being 56.2%.

Masimo Corporation (MASI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.40% and is a Zacks Rank #2 stock. MASI has an estimated growth rate of 10.6% for 2025.

Masimo’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 14.6%.

Haemonetics Corporation (HAE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.18% and a Zacks Rank of 2. HAE has an estimated long-term growth rate of 14%.

Haemonetics’ earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 3.5%.


Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)


Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.


Click Here, It's Really Free

Published in