Fortive Corporation FTV reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 70 cents from continuing operations, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents. The bottom line increased 25.4% year over year.
Revenues increased 7.7% year over year to $1069.4 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.8%. Core revenues jumped 5.3%.
After the announcement, Fortive’s shares jumped around 1.5% in the pre-market trading session today. The stock has gained 24.2% in the past year compared with the Zacks Electronics - Testing Equipment industry's growth of 35.1%.
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Management stated that the company’s strong performance reflects robust demand for its market-leading products, steady progress in executing the Fortive Accelerated strategy and a continued focus on financial discipline supported by the operational rigor of the Fortive Business System (FBS). It added that the company remained committed to disciplined capital allocation, completing approximately $500 million in additional share repurchases during the quarter, bringing total buybacks to around $1.8 billion over the three quarters since the launch of the new Fortive.
Top Line in Detail
Fortive operates under the following two organized segments:
Intelligent Operating Solutions: The segment generated revenues of $743.2 million (contributing 69.5% to total revenues), which increased 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Advanced Healthcare Solutions: This segment registered revenues of $326.2 million (30.5%), up 7.9% year over year.
Operating Details
In the reported quarter, adjusted gross profit increased 5.8% to $676.3 million on a year-over-year basis.
Adjusted operating margin was 27.4%, which expanded 120 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis.
Fortive Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Fortive Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Fortive Corporation Quote
Segment-wise, the adjusted operating margins of Intelligent Operating Solutions were 32.3%, contracting 20 bps year over year.
Adjusted operating margins of Advanced Healthcare Solutions were 24.1%, up 220 bps.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
As of April 3, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $356.1 million compared with $375.5 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.
FTV generated an operating cash flow of $220.4 million for the first quarter compared with $344.2 million in the previous quarter. Non-GAAP free cash flow was $193.8 million compared with $313.8 million in the prior quarter.
Fortive’s Outlook
For full-year 2026, Fortive still expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.90-$3.00.
Management highlighted that it is currently trending toward the upper half of its guidance. Management expressed confidence in the early progress made across the three pillars of its Fortive Accelerated strategy, driving profitable organic growth through FBS Amplified, maintaining disciplined capital allocation with a focus on achieving the best relative returns, and reinforcing its commitment to building and sustaining investor trust. The company remains firmly on track to meet its medium-term financial framework, and the progress achieved so far strengthens its optimism about the meaningful shareholder value creation opportunity.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Fortive has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Recent Performance of Other Firms
Badger Meter, Inc. BMI reported EPS of 93 cents for first-quarter 2026, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.5%. The bottom line compared unfavorably with the year-ago quarter’s EPS of $1.30.
Quarterly net sales were $202.3 million, down 9% from $222.2 million in the year-ago quarter due to delayed project deployments and weaker-than-expected short-cycle order activity. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $230.1 million.
SAP SE SAP reported first-quarter 2026 non-IFRS EPS of €1.72 ($2.01), which increased 20% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $1.92.
Driven by momentum in the cloud business, SAP reported total revenues on a non-IFRS basis of €9.56 billion ($11.2 billion), which increased 6% year over year (up 12% at constant currency or cc). The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $11.3 billion.
Sensata Technologies Holding plc ST reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of 86 cents, up from 78 cents a year ago. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.4%.
Revenues for the quarter reached $934.8 million, up 2.6% from a year ago. The figure came near to the upper end of management’s expectations ($917-$937 million) and beat the consensus estimate by 0.7%. Strength Aerospace, Defense and Commercial Equipment segments drove the top-line performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).