A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Avantor, Inc. (AVTR Quick QuoteAVTR - Free Report) . Shares have added about 5.4% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Avantor due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Avantor, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

Avantor Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on VWR Growth, Guidance Raised

Avantor reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 21 cents, down 12.5% from the year-ago quarter. However, the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.5%.

GAAP EPS for the quarter was 6 cents, down from 9 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Revenues for the second quarter increased 0.5% to $1.69 billion and surpassed the consensus mark by 4.2%. Results benefited from the earlier-than-expected return to organic growth in VWR Distribution & Services. Bioscience & Medtech Products, or BMP, also performed near the high end of management’s expectations, supported by double-digit order growth and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1 times.

Better-than-expected performance, especially by VWR, led management to raise sales and EPS guidance for the full year.

AVTR’s Revenue Performance in Detail

Foreign currency translation had a favorable impact of 0.9% in the quarter. Excluding currency movements, total revenues declined 0.4% organically from the year-ago period.

AVTR’s reported sales improvement reflected gains in its distribution business, partly offset by continued weakness in BMP. Management noted that commercial execution and customer-focused initiatives under the Avantor Revival program contributed to the better-than-anticipated quarterly performance.

Avantor’s VWR Segment Returns to Growth

VWR Distribution & Services generated revenues of $1.24 billion, up 2.7% on a reported basis and 1.7% organically year over year. The segment returned to growth sooner than management had expected, driven primarily by higher volumes and stronger commercial execution.

Performance improved across large global accounts as Avantor retained and expanded customer relationships, developed its new-business pipeline and accelerated contract onboarding. Small and midsized customers also contributed, aided by stronger e-commerce activity following upgrades to the company’s digital platform and the relaunch of vwr.com.

Direct traffic, conversion rates and daily sales improved as the quarter progressed. Pharma and biotech customer activity provided an additional modest tailwind, although demand in education and certain European markets remained at subdued levels.

AVTR’s BMP Sales Face Comparison Headwinds

BMP revenues totaled $451.8 million, reflecting a reported decline of 5.1% and an organic decrease of 5.6%. Despite the year-over-year contraction, the segment delivered sequential revenue growth and finished near the high end of the company’s expectations.

Process Chemicals outperformed management’s forecast, supported by healthy end-market demand, improved operations and strong order activity. However, Fluid Handling and NuSil declined in the mid-teens, while Research & Specialty Chemicals recorded a mid-single-digit organic decrease.

The normalization of prior-year customer ordering patterns in NuSil, Serum and Electronic Materials, along with a challenging comparison in Fluid Handling, created approximately 600-basis-point headwind to BMP’s organic growth. Management expects these pressures to ease going forward and continues to project a return to organic growth during the second half of 2026.

AVTR’s Margin Analysis

In the quarter under review, Avantor’s gross profit declined 3.1% year over year to $537 million. The gross margin contracted approximately 120 basis points (bps) to 31.7%.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 2.4% year over year to $415.2 million.

Adjusted operating profit totaled $225.1 million, down 10.7% from the prior-year quarter’s level. The adjusted operating margin in the quarter contracted 170 bps to 13.3%.

Avantor’s Financial Position

Avantor exited the second quarter of 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $306.8 million compared with $279.3 million at the first quarter of 2026-end. Total debt at the end of the second quarter of 2026 was $3.70 billion compared with $3.82 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Cumulative cash provided by operating activities at the end of the second quarter of 2026 was $236.9 million compared with $263.7 million a year ago.

Operating cash flow was $178.2 million in the quarter, while free cash flow totaled $142.8 million. Avantor repaid $112.1 million of debt and ended June with gross debt of $3.72 billion, cash of $306.8 million and adjusted net leverage of 3.3 times.

Avantor Raises Its 2026 Guidance

Avantor raised its 2026 organic revenue growth outlook to a range of negative 0.5% to positive 0.5%. The previous forecast called for a decline of 2.5% to 0.5%. The increase reflects VWR’s stronger performance and improved expectations for the second half.

Adjusted earnings guidance was raised to 80-83 cents per share from the prior range of 77-83 cents. The company maintained its adjusted EBITDA margin forecast of 14.8-15.3% and free cash flow outlook of $500-$550 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.

VGM Scores

At this time, Avantor has a subpar Growth Score of D, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a score of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for value investors.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. It comes with little surprise Avantor has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry Player

Avantor belongs to the Zacks Medical Services industry. Another stock from the same industry, Danaher (DHR Quick QuoteDHR - Free Report) , has gained 10% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2026.

Danaher reported revenues of $6.27 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +5.5%. EPS of $1.94 for the same period compares with $1.80 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Danaher is expected to post earnings of $1.96 per share, indicating a change of +3.7% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Danaher. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of F.