Henry Schein raises 2026 profit forecast, but Q3 sales miss estimates

Henry Schein (HSIC) said on Nov. 3 that third-quarter non-GAAP profit rose 13% to $1.56 per diluted share, topping estimates, and that it raised its 2026 profit forecast. Sales of $3.47 billion fell short of estimates.

Henry Schein is a products, services and technology platforms company for healthcare customers. The results cover the three months ended Sept. 26.

Here's how the company did:

• Non-GAAP diluted EPS: $1.56 per share vs. $1.38 a year earlier, topping the $1.38 consensus estimate
• GAAP diluted EPS: $1.06 per share vs. 84 cents a year earlier
• Revenue: $3.47 billion vs. $3.34 billion a year earlier, below the $3.55 billion consensus estimate
• Adjusted EBITDA: $321 million vs. $295 million a year earlier

Total net sales rose 4.0% from a year earlier, including 3.1% internal sales growth. U.S. dental merchandise sales rose 8.6%, driven primarily by volume, the company said.

The quarter included a net benefit of 19 cents per diluted share from tariff refunds. The prior-year quarter included a 23 cent remeasurement gain. Excluding these items, non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.37 compared with $1.15 in the prior-year period, an increase of 19.1%.

Chief Executive Officer Fred Lowery said: "We delivered another strong quarter that increases our confidence in the momentum we are building at Henry Schein."

"Our strategy is translating into stronger financial results," Lowery said.

2026 guidance

Henry Schein raised its 2026 non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance to $5.50 to $5.56, from the $5.29 to $5.39 range it gave on Aug. 4 in its previous results release.

Its Adjusted EBITDA growth outlook rose to high-single-digits, from mid to high-single-digits. Sales growth guidance of 4.5% to 5.5% was unchanged.

The EPS forecast includes the tariff refund benefit recognized in the third quarter, along with targeted growth investments in the fourth quarter. The company said the updated guidance assumes no significant tariff refunds or remeasurement gains for the rest of 2026.

Share repurchases

The company repurchased about 1.4 million shares in the third quarter at an average price of $86.67, for $125 million. Year to date, it bought about 5.7 million shares at an average of $79.50, for $450 million.

It had about $330 million left under its repurchase authorization at the end of the quarter.

Nine-month results

For the first nine months of 2026, net sales were $10.3 billion, up 5.6%. GAAP net income attributable to Henry Schein was $320 million, and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $4.14, up 14.0%.

Adjusted EBITDA was $898 million, compared with $810 million a year earlier.