Danaher Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Life Sciences Sales Rise Y/Y

Core Insights - Danaher Corporation's fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share were $2.14, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$ 2.17, but reflecting a year-over-year increase of 2.4% [1] - The company reported net sales of $6.5 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of$ 6.4 billion, with a year-over-year increase of 2.1% driven by strong performance in the Diagnostics and Life Sciences segments [2] Segment Performance - Life Sciences segment revenues reached $2.03 billion, up 5.5% year over year, with core sales increasing by 1% and operating profit rising 60% to$ 376 million [3] - Diagnostics segment revenues totaled $2.64 billion, down 3% year over year, with core sales decreasing by 2% and operating profit declining 18.5% to$ 624 million [4] - Biotechnology segment revenues were $1.87 billion, up 6.5% year over year, with core sales increasing by 8% and adjusted operating profit rising 22.1% to$ 508 million [5] Financial Metrics - Danaher's cost of sales increased by 0.8% year over year to $2.6 billion, while gross profit rose 3.8% to$ 3.4 billion, resulting in a gross margin of 59.5% [6] - Operating profit increased by 6.6% year over year to $1.43 billion, although the operating margin contracted to 21.8% from 20.9% [7] Balance Sheet and Cash Flow - At the end of the fourth quarter, Danaher had cash and equivalents of$ 2.1 billion, down from $5.9 billion at the end of 2023, while long-term debt decreased to$ 15.5 billion from $16.7 billion [8] - The company generated net cash of$ 6.68 billion from operating activities, up from $6.49 billion in the previous year, with adjusted free cash flow increasing 3.5% year over year to$ 5.31 billion [9] Outlook - For the first quarter, Danaher anticipates adjusted core sales from continuing operations to decline in low-single digits year over year, with an expected increase of approximately 3% year over year in 2025 [10]