Danaher Flags Slowing Growth Despite Strong 2Q — Update

By Adriano Marchese

Danaher is signalling softer near-term growth despite a strong second quarter, saying core revenue will slow in the third quarter.

The Washington-based life sciences and diagnostics company on Tuesday said customer-project timing continued to weigh on bioprocessing business revenue, and it expects core revenue to rise 2% to 3% in the third quarter.

Shares traded 15% lower in premarket trading, down to $170.75 a share.

The stepdown comes after reporting revenue growth of 5.5% in the second quarter, one that Chief Executive Rainer Blair said was the strongest in recent years thanks in part to its Life Sciences segment.

In the quarter, adjusted core revenue increased 3% year-over-year while adjusted core revenue excluding respiratory testing revenue increased 4.5%.

Danaher raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to $8.45 to $8.60 a share, up slightly from its prior range, though the improvement is driven largely by the earlier-than-expected closing of its Masimo acquisition, the company said.

The deal also adds to financing costs, with interest expense rising to $107 million from $71 million a year earlier.

Blair said order trends remain healthy, noting mid-teens growth in bioprocessing orders, and reiterated expectations for the company to exit 2026 at a mid-single-digit core revenue growth rate.

In its second quarter, revenues rose 5.5% to reach $6.3 billion, ahead of projections of $6.11 billion, according to FactSet. The rise supported a higher net profit of $870 million, or $1.23 a share, compared with $555 million, or 77 cents a share.

Adjusted earnings were $1.94 a share, topping expectations of $1.84 a share.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 21, 2026 09:23 ET (13:23 GMT)