Danaher's Q3 Earnings Boosted By Bioprocessing Order Growth, Analyst Maintain Stock Rating

On Tuesday, Danaher Corp DHR reported third-quarter sales of $5.79 billion, up 3% year-over-year, beating the consensus of $5.59 billion. 

Guidance: Danaher reaffirms that in fiscal year 2024, non-GAAP core revenue will be down in the low single digits year over year.

The company forecasts that 2024 bioprocessing core revenue will decline in the low single digits, and Cepheid 2024 respiratory revenues will be around $1.7 billion compared to prior guidance of $1.6 billion.

William Blair reports that Danaher’s third-quarter earnings aligned with expectations, particularly regarding the ongoing recovery in bioprocessing, though capital expenditures remain weak.

The analyst highlights that the recovery theme is progressing as anticipated, with results reflecting similar trends seen in industry conference updates earlier in the quarter.

Third-quarter book-to-bill improved to approximately 1.0x, up from 0.80x a year ago, and a high-single-digit increase in sequential orders further supported the bioprocessing rebound.

In the equipment segment, life sciences instruments saw a mid-single-digit decline, in line with forecasts and intra-quarter observations.

Meanwhile, diagnostics performed well, and Cepheid’s respiratory revenue again exceeded expectations.

On guidance, management expects mid- to high-single-digit core growth in the fourth quarter in Biotechnology. The analyst expects the focus of the call will be on the fourth-quarter exit rate for bioprocessing, any initial insights into 2025, capital equipment weakness, and updated thoughts on China.

William Blair keeps the Outperform rating. Goldman Sachs maintains a Neutral rating, with a price target of $250.

Price Action: DHR stock is down 4.01% at $261.18 at last check Tuesday.

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