Danaher Corporation

DHR
Financial Analysis · Updated May 12, 2026 · Coverage 2026-Q2
Latest Q Revenue
$6.0B
Q1 FY2026 · +0% YoY
TTM ROIC
10.2%
FY2025 · NOPAT (Non-GAAP) / Book Invested Capital (Total Equity + Net Debt) · WACC ~7.5% · Moat spread +2.7pp
Margin Profile
Gross 60%
Operating 27%
FCF 21.5%
FY2025
Net Debt
$17.0B
Cash $3.0B · Debt $20.0B · FY2025
Diluted Shares
708M
Q1 FY2026

Business Overview

ticker: DHR step: 01 generated: 2026-05-12 source: quick-research

Danaher Corporation (DHR) — Business Overview

Business Description

Danaher is a leading global designer + manufacturer of high-quality scientific instruments and consumables across three segments: Biotechnology (Cytiva + Pall — bioprocessing), Life Sciences (Leica Microsystems, SCIEX — research instruments), and Diagnostics (Beckman Coulter, Cepheid — clinical lab + molecular). Powered by the Danaher Business System (DBS), the proprietary continuous improvement methodology. CEO Rainer Blair has been in the role since September 2020. In September 2023, Danaher spun off Environmental & Applied Solutions as Veralto. Pending $9.9B Masimo acquisition adds connected medical devices.

Revenue Model

  • Biotechnology (~40% of revenue): Bioprocessing consumables + equipment via Cytiva (acquired 2020 GE Biosciences for $21B) + Pall — supports biologic drug manufacturing, vaccines, cell/gene therapy
  • Diagnostics (~35%): Clinical lab instruments (Beckman Coulter) + point-of-care molecular (Cepheid)
  • Life Sciences (~25%): Microscopy (Leica), mass spectrometry (SCIEX), liquid handling (Beckman Coulter), centrifugation
  • ~75-80% recurring revenue (consumables + services) — exceptional for industrial conglomerate

Products & Services

Biotechnology (Cytiva + Pall)
  • Bioprocessing consumables: Bioreactors, filters, chromatography resins, single-use technologies
  • Cytiva-branded equipment + AKTA chromatography systems
  • Pall filtration: Industrial + biopharma filtration
  • 75% of Cytiva exposure is monoclonal antibody (mAb) production
Diagnostics
  • Cepheid: GeneXpert PCR system + cartridges — respiratory, GI, HIV, TB, oncology
  • Cepheid Xpert GI Panel (new FDA clearance): 11-pathogen GI test
  • Beckman Coulter Diagnostics: Hematology, urinalysis, chemistry, immunoassay
  • Radiometer: Blood gas analyzers
  • HemoCue: Point-of-care testing
Life Sciences
  • Leica Microsystems: Light + electron microscopes, slides scanners
  • SCIEX: Mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis
  • Beckman Coulter Life Sciences: Flow cytometry, centrifugation, liquid handling
  • Phenomenex: Chromatography consumables
  • IDT (Integrated DNA Technologies): Custom DNA synthesis
Pending Acquisitions
  • Masimo (announced 2026): $9.9B for connected medical devices — concerning to bears on "diworsification"

Customer Base & Go-to-Market

  • Biopharma + Pharma manufacturers: Top global biopharma companies for bioprocessing
  • Hospitals + clinical labs: Diagnostics products
  • Academic + government research: Life Sciences instruments
  • Customer concentration: Top 10 customers ~20% of revenue (diversified)
  • Geographic mix: ~45% NA, ~30% Europe, ~25% APAC (China specifically ~10%; weak in 2024-2025 due to VBP)

Competitive Position

Danaher has #1 or #2 positions in most addressable markets: #1 bioprocessing (Cytiva ~25% market share, ahead of Sartorius + Thermo Fisher in some sub-segments), #1 point-of-care molecular diagnostics (Cepheid), top-3 in clinical chemistry (Beckman Coulter). Moats: (1) DBS continuous improvement = sustained margin expansion, (2) bioprocessing consumables "razor-and-blade" recurring revenue, (3) Cepheid installed base + cartridge stickiness, (4) capital allocation track record. Competitors: Sartorius (bioprocessing), Thermo Fisher Scientific (broad), Agilent (life sciences instruments), Roche Diagnostics (clinical).

Key Facts

  • Founded: 1969 (originally a real estate investment trust); acquired/transformed into industrial conglomerate via DBS
  • Headquarters: Washington, DC
  • Employees: ~63,000
  • Exchange: NYSE
  • Sector / Industry: Health Care / Life Sciences Tools & Services
  • Market Cap: ~$155B (May 2026)
  • CEO: Rainer M. Blair (since September 2020)
  • Chairman: Mitchell P. Rales (co-founder)
  • Dividend: $1.16 annual ($0.29 quarterly)
  • Recent: Veralto spin-off (Sept 2023); pending Masimo acquisition $9.9B

Financial Snapshot

ticker: DHR step: 04 generated: 2026-05-12 source: quick-research

Danaher Corporation (DHR) — Financial Snapshot

Income Statement Summary (post-Veralto spin-off Sept 2023)

Metric FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 YoY
Revenue $23.9B $23.9B $24.6B +3%
Non-GAAP Core Revenue Growth -3% flat +2% recovering
Non-GAAP Gross Margin 60% 60% 60% stable
Non-GAAP Operating Margin 27% 26% 27% recovering
Non-GAAP Adj. EPS $7.58 $7.46 $7.80 +5%
Free Cash Flow $7.6B ~$5.5B $5.3B -4%

Segment Performance (FY2025)

Segment Revenue Growth
Biotechnology ~$10B +mid-single-digit (bioprocessing recovering)
Diagnostics ~$8.5B -low-single-digit (China VBP drag, COVID rolloff)
Life Sciences ~$6.1B flat

Q1 2026 Highlights

Metric Q1 2026 YoY
Revenue $6.0B flat
Core Revenue Growth +0.5%
Bioprocessing Equipment Orders +30%+ YoY FIRST POSITIVE GROWTH IN ~2 YEARS
FCF Conversion 146%
Bioprocessing Consumables Growth low double-digit

Key Product Detail

Product FY2025 Notes
Cytiva (bioprocessing) Equipment order recovery; consumables strong
Cepheid respiratory ~$1.7B target FY26 (normal endemic season)
Cepheid GI Panel New FDA clearance — growth vector
China Diagnostics -high-single-digit; VBP $150M FY headwind

Cash Flow & Balance Sheet (FY2025)

Metric Value
Operating Cash Flow ~$6.5B
Capital Expenditures ~$1.2B
Free Cash Flow $5.3B
Cash & Investments ~$3B
Total Debt ~$20B (pre-Masimo)
Net Debt/EBITDA ~2.0x (pre-Masimo)

Key Ratios (approximate, May 2026)

  • P/E (forward): ~27x | EV/EBITDA: ~17x | Dividend Yield: ~0.6%
  • ROIC: ~10% (pre-Masimo)
  • FCF margin: ~22%

Growth Profile

Q1 2026 marked an inflection: bioprocessing equipment orders +30% YoY (first positive in nearly 2 years). Consumables low double-digit growth. Management raised FY26 EPS guidance on bioprocessing momentum. Q1 FCF conversion 146% — exceptional. Bear case "bioprocessing winter" appears to be ending. Diagnostics still drag (China VBP, normalized respiratory).

Forward Estimates

  • FY2026E Revenue: ~$26B (+5-6%)
  • FY2026E Adj EPS: ~$8.50 (+9%)
  • FY2027E EPS: ~$9.50 (+12%)
  • FY2026 Bioprocessing core growth: high-single-digit (mgmt guide)
  • Long-term EPS growth target: 10-12%

Capital Return

  • Dividend $1.16 annual (~$0.9B paid)
  • Buybacks: $5-7B annual run rate (varies with M&A)
  • Total return ~3-5%
  • Masimo pending $9.9B acquisition will constrain near-term buybacks

Deeper Financial Analysis

The fundamental tier adds 9 additional research dimensions for $DHR.

Revenue Breakdown
Segment revenue, geographic mix, product-line contribution margins, and cohort dynamics.
Financial Trends
Quarter-over-quarter momentum, leading indicators, and inflection point analysis.
Balance Sheet
Debt structure, liquidity runway, dilution risk, and working capital dynamics.
Capital Allocation
Buyback cadence, M&A appetite, dividend policy, and reinvestment priorities.
Returns on Capital (ROIC)
Multi-year ROIC vs. WACC, marginal returns on reinvestment, sales-to-invested-capital efficiency, and moat spread.
GET /api/v1/research/DHR/fundamental$1.00 · Bearer token required
Markdown: /stocks/dhr/financials/md · → thesis · → memo