Fortive Raises 2026 Profit Outlook To $3.10 To $3.14 A Share As Industrial Unit Powers Faster Growth
Third-quarter revenue grew 7.8% and buybacks cut the share count, but margins in the healthcare unit slipped.
Fortive, which makes instruments, software and services for workplace safety and healthcare, raised its 2026 adjusted earnings forecast to $3.10 to $3.14 a share on Wednesday after third-quarter sales growth sped up. Revenue rose 7.8% to $1.11 billion, and the company said the guidance range is up about 15% from last year at the midpoint.
Industrial strength, healthcare squeeze
Core revenue, which strips out acquisitions, divestitures and currency swings, rose 7.2%. Adjusted earnings came to $0.77 a share, up 13.2% from $0.68 a year earlier, while standard-accounting earnings climbed 62.9% to $0.57 a share on net earnings of $173 million.
Adjusted EBITDA, operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, rose 9.5% to $339 million, a 30.6% margin versus 30.1% a year ago. Intelligent Operating Solutions, the unit behind brands such as Fluke, grew revenue 9.8% to $767 million, and its adjusted EBITDA margin widened to 35.8% from 34.6%.
Advanced Healthcare Solutions grew revenue 3.7% to $340 million, but its adjusted EBITDA fell 4.8% to $88 million. Its margin dropped to 25.8% from 28.1%, and its standard-accounting operating profit fell 10.1% to $38 million.
Buybacks shrink the share count
Fortive spent about $300 million on repurchases in the quarter, bringing buybacks since the launch of what it calls the new Fortive to about $2.3 billion, or roughly 43 million shares, about 13% of shares outstanding. Diluted shares averaged 303.9 million in the quarter, down from 333.4 million a year earlier.
Free cash flow was $284 million in the quarter. Over the trailing twelve months it reached $1,062 million, up 15.2% from $922 million a year earlier.
Soroye's "Fortive Accelerated" pitch
CEO Olumide Soroye said the quarter was the fifth straight with double-digit adjusted earnings growth, and credited the company's Fortive Accelerated strategy. He said the company remains "fully confident" in the medium-term financial framework it laid out at its last Investor Day.
Soroye and CFO Mark Okerstrom are scheduled to present at the Baird 2026 Global Industrial Conference on November 10, the company said.
The next dated test is the Baird conference on November 10, where management will face questions on the healthcare margin slide.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — Fortive Corp (FTV) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit ftv-q3x2026xearningsxpress.htm — Fortive Corp 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
- Fortive to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock? — Yahoo Finance
- Fortive To Present at Baird 2026 Global Industrial Conference – Company Announcement - FT.com — Financial Times
