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Danaher Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Life Sciences Sales Up Y/Y

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Key Takeaways

  • Danaher's Q3 adjusted EPS rose 10.5% year over year to $1.89, topping consensus estimates.
  • Net sales grew 4.5% to $6.05 billion, with all segments contributing to year-over-year gains.
  • Operating profit jumped 20.5%, expanding margins to 19.1% from 16.5% in the prior year.

Danaher Corporation’s (DHR - Free Report) third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $1.89 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.71. The bottom line increased 10.5% year over year.

Danaher reported net sales of $6.05 billion, which beat the consensus estimate of $6.00 billion. The metric increased 4.5% year over year, driven by the impressive performance of all the segments.

DHR’s core sales increased 3% year over year in the quarter. Foreign-currency translations had a positive impact of 1.5%.

DHR’s Segmental Discussion

Revenues from the Life Sciences segment totaled $1.79 billion, up 0.5% year over year. We expected the segment’s revenues to be $1.83 billion. However, core sales decreased 1% year over year. Foreign-currency translations had a positive impact of 1.5%. Operating profit was $222 million compared with $35 million reported in the year-ago quarter. 

Revenues from the Diagnostics segment totaled $2.46 billion, up 4% year over year. Our estimate for revenues was $2.37 billion. Core sales increased 3.5% year over year, while foreign currency had a positive impact of 1% on sales. However, acquisitions/divestitures impacted sales by 0.5%. Operating profit was $665 million, up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Revenues from the Biotechnology segment totaled $1.80 billion, up 9% year over year. Our estimate was $1.80 billion. Core sales increased 6.5% year over year, while foreign-currency translations had a positive impact of 2.5%. Operating profit was $352 million, down 9.7% year over year.

Danaher Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Danaher Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Danaher Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Danaher Corporation Quote

Danaher’s Margin Profile

In the third quarter, Danaher’s cost of sales increased 5.5% year over year to $2.53 billion. Gross profit of $3.52 billion increased 3.6% year over year. The gross margin was 58.2% compared with 58.7% in the year-ago quarter.

Selling, general and administrative expenses of $2.00 billion recorded a decrease of 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research and development expenses were $378 million, down 1.3% year over year.

Danaher’s operating profit increased 20.5% year over year to $1.15 billion. Operating margin expanded to 19.1% from 16.5% in the year-ago quarter.

DHR’s Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Exiting the third quarter, DHR had cash and equivalents of $1.53 billion compared with $2.08 billion at 2024-end. Long-term debt was $16.8 billion at the end of the quarter compared with $15.5 billion at the end of December 2024.

Danaher generated net cash of $4.30 billion from operating activities in the first nine months of 2025 compared with $4.67 billion in the previous year’s comparable period. Capital expenditures totaled $785 million in the same period, down 10.4% year over year. Adjusted free cash flow decreased 7.5% year over year to $3.52 billion in the first nine months of 2025.

In the same period, DHR paid out dividends of $652 million, up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Danaher’s Outlook

For the third quarter, Danaher expects adjusted core sales from continuing operations to increase in the low single digits on a year-over-year basis. The company expects adjusted earnings to be $7.70-$7.80 per share.

DHR’s Zacks Rank

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked companies are discussed below.

Grupo Cibest S.A. (CIB - Free Report) currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. 

Grupo Cibest delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.5%. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CIB’s 2025 earnings has increased 3.3%.

ITT Inc. (ITT - Free Report) presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). It has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 1.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ITT’s 2025 earnings has increased 0.2% in the past 60 days.

Flowserve Corporation (FLS - Free Report) presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. FLS delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 5.5%.

In the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for Flowserve’s 2025 earnings has remained steady.

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