Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.'s (TMO Quick QuoteTMO - Free Report) fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.10 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.9%. The figure increased 7.6% year over year.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

The adjusted number excludes certain expenses, including asset amortization costs and certain restructuring costs.

GAAP EPS was $4.78, up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Full-year adjusted EPS was $21.86, reflecting a 1.4% increase from the 2023 figure. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.8%.

Following the earnings announcement, shares of TMO rose a modest 1.2% in pre-market trading today.

TMO’s Q4 Revenues in Detail

Revenues in the quarter increased 4.6% year over year to $11.39 billion. Meanwhile, the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.2%.

Organic and core organic revenues in the reported quarter increased 4% and 5%, respectively.

Full-year revenues totaled $42.88 billion, up 0.05% from the 2023 level. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%.

Thermo Fisher’s Segmental Analysis

Thermo Fisher operates under four business segments, as discussed below:

Life Sciences Solutions

Revenues in the Life Sciences Solutions segment (22.9% of total revenues) increased 5.3% year over year to $2.60 billion. This missed our model’s projection of $2.65 billion for this segment.

Analytical Instruments

Revenues in this segment (19.2%) rose 7.3% to $2.19 billion. The figure came in line with our model’s projection.

Specialty Diagnostics

Revenues in the Specialty Diagnostics segment (10.2%) increased 5.4% year over year to $1.16 billion. This surpassed our model’s projected $1.13 billion in revenues for this segment.

Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services

Revenues in this segment (52.1%) rose 3.8% to $5.94 billion. Our model’s projection was $5.72 billion.

TMO’s Margin Performance

Gross margin of 43% in the fourth quarter expanded 173 basis points (bps) year over year, despite a 1.6% increase in the cost of revenues.

In the quarter, selling, general and administrative expenses rose 10.4% to $1.85 billion. Research and development expenses increased 14.4% to $374 million.

The adjusted operating margin in the quarter was 23.5%, reflecting an expansion of 61 bps.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Quote

TMO’s Financial Position

The company ended the fourth quarter of 2024 with cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $5.56 billion compared with $8.08 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.

Cumulative net cash from operating activities at the end of 2024 was $3.29 billion compared with $3.72 billion a year ago.

Thermo Fisher has a consistent dividend-paying history, with the five-year annualized dividend growth being 14.89%.

Our Take on Thermo Fisher Stock

Thermo Fisher exited the fourth quarter of 2024 with better-than-expected results, wherein both earnings and revenues beat the respective estimates. Also, all the business segments reported growth during the quarter. Expansion of both margins in the quarter was encouraging as well. The company will provide its 2025 guidance on the earnings call today.

During 2024, the company advanced in its growth strategy by launching a range of high-impact, innovative new products, which include the Thermo Scientific Iliad (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscope, the Thermo Scientific Stellar mass spectrometer, the Thermo Scientific Dionex Inuvion Ion Chromatography system, the Applied Biosystems MagMAX Sequential DNA/RNA kit, the Thermo Scientific iCAP MX Series ICP-MS and new additions to the Gibco CTS Detachable Dynabeads platform. Additionally, in 2024, Thermo Fisher completed the acquisition of Olink, a leading provider of advanced solutions for proteomics research. All these developments translated into meaningful commercial wins for the company in 2024, which is encouraging.

TMO’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Thermo Fisher currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Veracyte (VCYT Quick QuoteVCYT - Free Report) , Cardinal Health (CAH Quick QuoteCAH - Free Report) and Haemonetics (HAE Quick QuoteHAE - Free Report) .

Veracyte, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of 19 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a huge 850%. Revenues of $115.9 million topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.8%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

VCYT has an estimated earnings growth rate of 137.2% for 2024 compared with the industry’s 15%. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 520.58%.

Cardinal Health, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, posted first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.88, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.8%. Revenues of $52.28 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%. CAH has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.5% compared with the industry’s 9.6%. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 11.24%.

Haemonetics, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.12, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.8%. Revenues of $345.5 million topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%. HAE has an estimated earnings growth rate of 15.9% for fiscal 2025 compared with the industry’s 12.2%. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, the average surprise being 2.82%.