Fortive (NYSE:FTV – Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Fortive updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.950-3.050 EPS.
Here are the key takeaways from Fortive’s conference call:
- Fortive raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.95–$3.05 and increased expected core revenue growth to approximately 4%, up from 2%–3% previously.
- Q2 delivered strong results, including 6.7% core revenue growth, 12% adjusted EBITDA growth, 28% adjusted EPS growth, and 29.5% adjusted EBITDA margins. Free cash flow was approximately $270 million, with trailing-12-month free cash flow exceeding $1 billion.
- Demand remained robust at Fluke, particularly in data centers, defense, APAC, and Latin America, while new products such as CertiFiber Max and AI-enabled software are contributing to growth. Healthcare consumables, services, and software also grew broadly, and capital equipment returned to growth.
- Fortive repurchased roughly $200 million of shares in Q2, bringing repurchases since the New Fortive launch to approximately 38 million shares, or 11% of shares outstanding. The company also acquired a majority stake in UV Smart to expand ASP’s disinfection portfolio.
- Gross margins declined about 100–110 basis points in both segments due primarily to unfavorable product mix and strategic growth investments. Management expects Q3 margins to be slightly below Q2 levels, while Q4 revenue and core growth will face a headwind from four fewer selling days.
Fortive Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:FTV traded down $4.92 on Wednesday, reaching $59.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,414,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,402,619. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.66. Fortive has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $64.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.57.
Fortive Announces Dividend
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Argus upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Fortive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fortive from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on FTV
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 47,557 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $2,891,941.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 87,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,337,901.80. This trade represents a 35.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Fortive
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Boston Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.
More Fortive News
Here are the key news stories impacting Fortive this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Fortive exceeded Wall Street expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.74 versus the $0.71 consensus and revenue of approximately $1.10 billion versus estimates of $1.07 billion. Revenue increased 8% year over year. MarketBeat earnings report
- Positive Sentiment: Core revenue growth accelerated to 6.7%, while adjusted EBITDA rose 12% and adjusted EPS increased 28% on an adjusted basis, signaling improving operating momentum. Demand in Fortive’s industrial automation business was described as resilient. Reuters article
- Positive Sentiment: Management raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $2.95-$3.05, with the midpoint slightly above the roughly $2.99 analyst consensus. The company also cited stronger cash flow and continued disciplined capital allocation. Zacks earnings article
- Neutral Sentiment: The headline quarterly results were favorable, although reported EPS of $0.74 remained below the $0.90 posted in the year-ago quarter. Investors may be comparing the improvement in adjusted performance with the broader earnings trend and Fortive’s valuation.
- Negative Sentiment: The market’s negative reaction suggests that the earnings beat and raised outlook may not have been sufficient to satisfy high expectations, particularly with the stock trading near its recent high. The report did not signal a major deterioration, but investors appear to be taking profits or focusing on the mixed year-over-year EPS comparison. Fortive second-quarter results
Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, May 4th that allows the company to buyback 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
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.
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