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Danaher Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Life Sciences Sales Up Y/Y
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Key Takeaways
Danaher beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates as sales rose 5.5% year over year.
DHR's Life Sciences delivered its strongest quarter in years, while core sales rose 3.0%.
Danaher raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook and expects 3-4% adjusted core sales growth.
Danaher Corporation’s (DHR - Free Report) second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.94 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.84. The bottom line increased 7.8% year over year.
Revenues of $6.3 billion surpassed the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion and rose 5.5% year over year. Core sales advanced 3.0%, while core sales excluding respiratory testing increased 4.5%. Acquisitions added 1.5% to reported sales growth, while foreign-currency translation contributed 1.0%. Life Sciences segment delivered its strongest quarter in several years.
DHR’s Segmental Discussion
Revenues from the Life Sciences segment totaled $1.88 billion, up 5.5% year over year. Core sales increased 5.5% year over year. Foreign-currency translations had no impact on sales. Operating profit was $244 million against a loss of $239 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
Revenues from the Diagnostics segment totaled $2.47 billion, up 7.0% year over year. Core sales increased 2.0%, acquisitions contributed 4.0% while foreign currency had a positive impact of 1.0% on sales. Operating profit was $416 million, down 24.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Revenues from the Biotechnology segment totaled $1.92 billion, up 4.0% year over year. Core sales increased 2.5% year over year and foreign-currency translations had a positive impact of 1.5%. Operating profit was $556 million, up 4.7% year over year.
Danaher Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
In the second quarter, Danaher’s cost of sales increased 10% year over year to $2.65 billion. Gross profit of $3.61 billion increased 2.5% year over year. The gross margin was 57.6% compared with 59.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 12.2% year over year to $2.07 billion. Research and development expenses were $412 million, up 2.2% year over year.
Danaher’s operating profit increased 48.3% year over year to $1.13 billion. Operating margin increased to 18.0% from 12.8% in the year-ago quarter.
DHR’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
Exiting the second quarter, DHR had cash and equivalents of $4.35 billion compared with $4.62 billion at 2025-end. Long-term debt was $25.1 billion at the end of the quarter compared with $18.4 billion at the end of December 2025.
Danaher generated net cash of $2.85 billion from operating activities in the first six months of 2026 compared with $2.64 billion in the previous year’s comparable period. Capital expenditures totaled $506 million in the same period, up 2.6% year over year. Adjusted free cash flow increased 15.5% year over year to $1.27 billion in the first six months of 2026.
In the same period, DHR paid out dividends of $509 million, up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Danaher Raises 2026 EPS View
For the third quarter of 2026, Danaher expects adjusted core sales to increase 2-3% on a year-over-year basis.
The metric is anticipated to increase 3-4% on a year-over-year basis in 2026. The company expects adjusted earnings to be $8.45-$8.60 per share compared with $8.35-$8.55 expected earlier.
DHR’s Zacks Rank
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avantor’s 2026 earnings has remained steady.
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View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Danaher Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Life Sciences Sales Up Y/Y
Key Takeaways
Danaher Corporation’s (DHR - Free Report) second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.94 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.84. The bottom line increased 7.8% year over year.
Revenues of $6.3 billion surpassed the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion and rose 5.5% year over year. Core sales advanced 3.0%, while core sales excluding respiratory testing increased 4.5%. Acquisitions added 1.5% to reported sales growth, while foreign-currency translation contributed 1.0%. Life Sciences segment delivered its strongest quarter in several years.
DHR’s Segmental Discussion
Revenues from the Life Sciences segment totaled $1.88 billion, up 5.5% year over year. Core sales increased 5.5% year over year. Foreign-currency translations had no impact on sales. Operating profit was $244 million against a loss of $239 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
Revenues from the Diagnostics segment totaled $2.47 billion, up 7.0% year over year. Core sales increased 2.0%, acquisitions contributed 4.0% while foreign currency had a positive impact of 1.0% on sales. Operating profit was $416 million, down 24.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Revenues from the Biotechnology segment totaled $1.92 billion, up 4.0% year over year. Core sales increased 2.5% year over year and foreign-currency translations had a positive impact of 1.5%. Operating profit was $556 million, up 4.7% year over year.
Danaher Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Danaher Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Danaher Corporation Quote
Danaher’s Margin Profile
In the second quarter, Danaher’s cost of sales increased 10% year over year to $2.65 billion. Gross profit of $3.61 billion increased 2.5% year over year. The gross margin was 57.6% compared with 59.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 12.2% year over year to $2.07 billion. Research and development expenses were $412 million, up 2.2% year over year.
Danaher’s operating profit increased 48.3% year over year to $1.13 billion. Operating margin increased to 18.0% from 12.8% in the year-ago quarter.
DHR’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
Exiting the second quarter, DHR had cash and equivalents of $4.35 billion compared with $4.62 billion at 2025-end. Long-term debt was $25.1 billion at the end of the quarter compared with $18.4 billion at the end of December 2025.
Danaher generated net cash of $2.85 billion from operating activities in the first six months of 2026 compared with $2.64 billion in the previous year’s comparable period. Capital expenditures totaled $506 million in the same period, up 2.6% year over year. Adjusted free cash flow increased 15.5% year over year to $1.27 billion in the first six months of 2026.
In the same period, DHR paid out dividends of $509 million, up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Danaher Raises 2026 EPS View
For the third quarter of 2026, Danaher expects adjusted core sales to increase 2-3% on a year-over-year basis.
The metric is anticipated to increase 3-4% on a year-over-year basis in 2026. The company expects adjusted earnings to be $8.45-$8.60 per share compared with $8.35-$8.55 expected earlier.
DHR’s Zacks Rank
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked companies from the same space are discussed below:
Progyny, Inc. (PGNY - Free Report) currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
PGNY delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 16.1%. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Progyny’s 2026 earnings has increased 3.6%.
Avantor, Inc. (AVTR - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). AVTR delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 0.7%.
In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avantor’s 2026 earnings has remained steady.
CVS Health Corporation (CVS - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. CVS delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 16.8%.
In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CVS Health’s 2026 earnings has increased 0.7%.