Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX, popularly known as BD, delivered adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.90 in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, up 3.9% year over year. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.8%.
The adjustments include expenses related to purchase accounting adjustments and restructuring costs, among others.
GAAP loss per share for the quarter was 13 cents against the year-ago quarter’s EPS of 55 cents.
BDX’s Revenues in Detail
BD registered revenues of $4.71 billion in the fiscal second quarter, up 5.2% year over year on a reported basis. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%.
At constant exchange rate (CER), revenues climbed 2.6% year over year.
Robust performances by all the segments on a reported basis drove the top-line improvement.
Shares of this company gained nearly 2.5% in today’s pre-market trading.
BD’s Segment Details
Effective Oct. 1, 2025, BD had reorganized its organizational units into five distinct, separately-managed segments, which are based on the nature of its product and service offerings. However, subsequent to the spin-off of BDX's former Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions business and the combination of the business with Waters, the Life Sciences segment was eliminated, leaving the company with four distinct, separately-managed segments.
In the quarter under review, the Medical Essentials segment reported revenues of $1.65 billion, up 4.7% and 1.7% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and at CER, respectively.
Revenues in the Connected Care segment totaled $1.12 billion, up 4.9% year over year on a reported basis and 3.2% at CER.
BioPharma Systems segment generated revenues of $590 million, up 2.5% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis, but down 1.8% at CER.
BD Interventional segment generated revenues of $1.36 billion, up 7.3% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and 5.3% at CER.
BDX’s Geographic Results
In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, revenues in the United States improved 5.1% year over year to $2.92 billion.
International revenues grossed $1.79 billion, up 5.5% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis, but down 1.4% at CER.
Becton, Dickinson and Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Becton, Dickinson and Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Becton, Dickinson and Company Quote
BD’s Margin Analysis
In the quarter under review, BD’s gross profit increased 15.7% year over year to $2.15 billion. The gross margin expanded 415 basis points (bps) to 45.7%.
Selling and administrative expenses increased 8.6% year over year to $1.21 billion. Research and development expenses increased 7.3% year over year to $249 million. Adjusted operating expenses of $1.46 billion rose 8.4% year over year.
Adjusted operating profit totaled $692 million, reflecting a 35.2% increase from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating margin in the fiscal second quarter expanded 325 bps to 14.7%.
BDX’s Financial Position
BD exited second-quarter fiscal 2026 with cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $816 million compared with $751 million at the fiscal first-quarter end. Total debt (including current debt obligations) at the end of the fiscal second quarter was $17.28 billion compared with $19.54 billion at the fiscal first-quarter end.
Cumulative net cash provided by continuing operating activities at the end of second-quarter fiscal 2026 was $1.33 billion compared with $489 million a year ago.
Meanwhile, BD has a consistent dividend-paying history, with its five-year annualized dividend growth being 5.47%.
BD’s Fiscal 2026 Guidance
BD has revised guidance for fiscal 2026 for New BD.
BD continues to project its full fiscal year revenues to grow above low single-digit on a reported basis, while it continues to expect them to grow at low single-digit at CER.
For the full fiscal year, adjusted EPS is now anticipated to be in the range of $12.52-$12.72, up from the prior outlook of $12.35-$12.65. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $12.53.
Our Take on BD
BD exited the second quarter of fiscal 2026 with better-than-expected results and solid top-line results. Robust performances by all segments and both geographic regions on a reported basis were encouraging. The expansion of both margins bodes well.
Apart from these, there were a few other developments during the recent period. BDX announced the commercial launch of the BD CentroVena One Insertion System (Medical Essentials segment), the BD Pyxis Pro Dispensing Solution, the BD Incada Connected Care Platform in Europe and the HemoSphere Stream Module (all within the Connected Care segment). The company also progressed on the regulatory front, where it received CE Marking for the Revello Vascular Covered Stent and the Liverty TIPS Stent Graft and FDA 510(k) clearance for Surgiphor 1000mL (all within the Interventional segment). BD also announced a few collaborations during the reported quarter. These raise our optimism about the stock.
However, lower revenues from the BioPharma Systems segment and the international revenues at CER were disappointing.
BD’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks
BDX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space that have announced quarterly results are BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. BTSG, DaVita Inc. DVA and Labcorp Holdings Inc. LH.
BrightSpring, sporting a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of 39 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 35.4%. Revenues of $3.61 billion outpaced the consensus mark by 8.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
BrightSpring has a long-term estimated growth rate of 44.5%. BTSG’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 14.6%.
DaVita reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.87, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 19.1%. Revenues of $3.42 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.5%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
DaVita has a long-term estimated growth rate of 20.2%. DVA’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 2.4%.
Labcorp reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $4.25, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.9%. Revenues of $3.54 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Labcorp has a long-term estimated growth rate of 7.9%. LH’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 3.3%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
