Oct 21, 2026 earnings call — Thermo Fisher raises full-year guidance
Raised full-year revenue guidance to $47.7 billion-$48.2 billion and adjusted EPS to $25.13-$25.43 per share.
Revenue $12.1B (est $12.0B) · EPS $6.68 (est $6.40) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $47.7B–$48.2B
Key quotes
"The technology helps generate even higher quality data while reducing manual step setup time by approximately 90%."
"As part of our ongoing efforts, we recently launched a new AI-based clinical research assistant."
"We are raising our revenue guidance to a new range of $47.7 billion-$48.2 billion, representing 7%-8% reported revenue growth over 2025."
Analyst Q&A 7
growth by end market and China
Q (Tycho Peterson · Jefferies): He asked for a state-of-the-union and wanted organic growth detail by end market: pharma, biotech, academic, applied, diagnostics, and China. He asked whether improvement is broad or concentrated.
A: Management said the stronger activity seen in Q2 continued and the quarter's end markets were very strong. Pharma and biotech continued to progress and delivered high single-digit growth; academic and government were flat; industrial/applied was strong from semiconductor electron microscopy; diagnostics grew low single-digit.
"When you look at pharma and biotech, you see that continue to progress and strengthen." — Marc Casper (CEO·CHAIR)
investments made during downturn
Q (Doug Schenkel · UBS): He asked what key investments Thermo Fisher made during the tools downturn and where the biggest opportunities are to outperform as markets recover.
A: Management said they invested heavily in innovation and in Pharma Services and clinical research capabilities, including applying AI and scaling capacity. They also cited the filtration separations acquisition and the recent Clario acquisition as important moves that position the company to deliver on midterm commitments and the 7% organic outlook.
"And then finally, more recently, we acquired Clario, and it's a great technology set of capabilities that is going to be one of the key enablers of development going forward." — Marc Casper (CEO·CHAIR)
quarter phasing and 2027 outlook
Q (Jack Meehan · Operon): He asked why 3Q organic was 6% but guide is 4% for 4Q and whether that conservatism is due to Pharma Services timing. He also asked how Thermo thinks about reaching the higher end of the 3%-6% range in 2027.
A: Management said they raised their second-half organic outlook: they grew 3% in the first half, had expected 4% in the second half, and now expect 5% in the second half, noting Pharma Services activity was weighted to Q3. They said they will give 2027 guidance on Feb 2 and aim to exit 2027 back in a more normal growth period, without committing to an exact quarter.
"Now we are saying we expect to grow 5% in the second half." — Jim Meyer (CFO)
biotech pickup and Solventum impact
Q (Dan Arias · Stifel): He asked whether the biotech pickup is broadening into reagents (LSS) since LSS was up 1%, and how likely that trend is to broaden next year. He also asked Jim about the organic contribution from Solventum's annualization.
A: Management said the biotech end market has strengthened: authorizations and clinical research picked up first, then lab/channel activity strengthened, and they expect life-science reagents to follow over the next couple of quarters. On Solventum, management said the one month in the quarter is not a meaningful driver, the business is performing well, and it is on track to be a mid to high single-digit grower with investment in capacity.
"When you look at how that has progressed from the period where biotech was more challenged, the first thing we saw was authorizations and clinical research pick up, right?" — Marc Casper (CEO·CHAIR)
monetizing AI and lab results
Q (Matt Larew · William Blair): He asked how to think about monetizing AI tools versus using AI as product enhancements, and asked for a break out of lab solutions performance and reshoring contribution.
A: Management said AI can improve scientific workflows and create new demand; they opened a center in Korea to collaborate with researchers and accelerate adoption, and they're applying AI across clinical research to win business. For Life Sciences Solutions, reagents remain muted but they have invested in capabilities (proteomics, next-gen sequencing 560 Chip); bioproduction was the strongest growing business but growth was a bit less than very recent quarters.
"With the adoption of AI, there's opportunities to improve how you do those scientific workflows." — Marc Casper (CEO·CHAIR)
drivers of the quarter beat
Q (Dan Brennan · TD Cowen): He asked what drove the quarter beat beyond Patheon timing, and whether other areas contributed.
A: Management said the strong quarter was driven by Pharma Services (largely timing between Q3 and Q4) and strong growth across pharma and biotech. They also called out very strong Analytical Instruments performance, especially electron microscopy for semiconductor applications, and said China had a great quarter with low double-digit growth.
"The strong performance in the quarter was really driven by the strong performance in Pharma Services, which is largely a timing element between Q3 and Q4, and strong growth across pharma and biotech." — Jim Meyer (CFO)
Accelerator Drug Development and bioprocessing
Q (Evie Koslosky · Goldman Sachs): She asked about share gains from the Accelerator Drug Development strategy and how customers view Thermo's value versus insourcing and peers in the age of AI. She also asked about durability of bioprocessing momentum and the role of design centers.
A: Management said Accelerator Drug Development has helped them win significant clinical and Pharma Services business because it shaves time from development and improves probability of success; AI is actively deployed and customer adoption and momentum are strong. For bioprocessing, they said they have leading positions across media, single-use, purification and filtration, view the business as long-term high single-digit to low double-digit growth, and the design centers let customers develop process from lab scale to 5,000 L using the same technology.
"Accelerator Drug Development, which has been in operation for a couple of years, has allowed us to win significant business across our clinical research business and our Pharma Services business." — Marc Casper (CEO·CHAIR)