Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Fortive had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 12.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Fortive updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.900-3.000 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Fortive’s conference call:

• Fortive reported a strong Q4 with core revenue up ~3%, Adjusted EBITDA +8% and Adjusted EPS +13%, and delivered full‑year Adjusted EPS of $2.71 which exceeded the high end of guidance.
• Management executed disciplined capital allocation, repurchasing roughly $1.3 billion of shares in H2 2025 (including ~$265M in Q4), reducing diluted shares to ~315M, while generating ~$930M of free cash flow and maintaining a 2.6x gross debt/Adjusted EBITDA leverage.
• Fortive initiated 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.90–$3.00 (about 9% YoY at the midpoint) with core revenue growth guidance of 2–3% and a 50–100 bps margin expansion objective over the 2026–27 framework, signaling management confidence in execution.
• Advanced Healthcare Solutions (AHS) saw weaker performance from U.S. hospital capital expenditure deferrals and margin compression due to targeted growth investments, creating near‑term pressure even as management expects gradual improvement.
• Management views AI as an accelerator for its mission‑critical software (citing ARR growth, strong retention and net dollar retention) and prefers small, selective bolt‑on M&A, but the timing and scale of software/AI upside remain uncertain.

Fortive Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.27. 1,851,679 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,821,947. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.12. Fortive has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $83.32.

Fortive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS $0.90 vs. $0.83 est. and revenue $1.12B vs. $1.09B; revenue grew ~4.7% YoY. This beat provided the immediate catalyst for the rally. Fortive’s (NYSE:FTV) Q4 CY2025 Sales Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised/above‑consensus FY‑2026 guidance — management set EPS guidance of $2.90–$3.00 vs. Street ~$2.84, underpinning the more constructive outlook. Fortive forecasts upbeat annual profit
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted new product launches and cost actions as key drivers of outperformance, suggesting sustainable margin improvement potential. FTV Q4 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Industrial automation strength called out as a durable revenue/profit contributor — cited by management as support for the upbeat 2026 outlook. Reuters: Fortive forecasts upbeat annual profit
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and call transcripts are available (press release, slide deck, and multiple transcripts) for investors wanting detail on segment trends and margin drivers. Business Wire: Fortive Reports Q4 and FY2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS declined year‑over‑year (from $1.17 to $0.90) despite beating estimates, highlighting uneven near‑term comparables that investors should monitor. MarketBeat: Q4 results and call materials
• Negative Sentiment: Financial profile concerns — liquidity ratios are low (current ~0.70, quick ~0.58) and valuation is elevated (PE ~34.6), which could limit upside if growth slows or execution stumbles. (Company financials and market data)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Viking Global Investors LP increased its stake in Fortive by 28.7% in the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 20,483,680 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,003,495,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,056 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 205.6% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $182,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502,300 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 70.9% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,349,575 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,106,000 after purchasing an additional 974,485 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,002,805 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $98,117,000 after purchasing an additional 903,692 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Fortive by 84.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,870,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $91,638,000 after buying an additional 859,156 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Fortive from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Fortive from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.46.

Fortive Company Profile

Fortive Corporation (NYSE: FTV) is a diversified industrial technology company headquartered in Everett, Washington. The company was created through a spin‑off from Danaher Corporation in 2016 and has since focused on building a portfolio of professional instrumentation and industrial technology businesses. In 2020 Fortive completed a further portfolio separation with the spin‑off of Vontier, concentrating Fortive’s activities on higher‑margin instrumentation, software and services.

Fortive’s operations center on professional test and measurement, sensing and monitoring, software‑enabled solutions, and lifecycle services that support industrial and commercial customers.