Executive Summary

Q1 2026 primary filings (8-K 2.02 and earnings call) are not yet available; this recap sets up the quarter using the latest reported results (Q3 and Q2 2025, Q1 2025), updated FY25 guidance, product news, and S&P Global consensus for Q1 2026 and FY26 (flagged with asterisks). Q3 revenue was $700M, adjusted EBITDA margin 25.3%, and adjusted EPS $0.80, while FY25 guidance was narrowed with adjusted EPS reduced solely for higher interest/taxes after refinancing .
Underlying ex-COVID/Donor Screening growth continued (mid-single-digit), cost actions expanded margins, and the U.S. FDA cleared VITROS high-sensitivity troponin for labs, strengthening the cardiac menu ahead of Q1 seasonality .
FY25 guidance: revenue $2.68–$2.74B, adjusted EBITDA $585–$605M (22% margin), adjusted EPS $2.00–$2.15; interest expense raised to ~$177M and ETR to 25% due to refinancing and tax mix; COVID revenue expected $70–$100M for FY25 .
Q1 2026 set-up: Consensus implies modest growth vs Q1 2025 (Revenue $0.712B*, EPS $0.82*, EBITDA $182M*), with catalysts including execution on cost savings, Lex FDA timing (late 2025/early 2026) and initial placements, and early contribution from hs-troponin-enabled cardiac testing in labs .
Potential stock reaction catalysts: pace of ex-COVID growth, margin trajectory vs 22% FY25 guide into early 2026, clarity on Lex approvals/rollout, and any change to COVID/flu testing mix and instrument vs reagent mix in Q1 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Margin expansion and cost discipline: Q3 adjusted EBITDA $177M with 25.3% margin (+180 bps YoY); non-GAAP opex -7% YoY on cost actions .
Ex-COVID core momentum: Q3 non-respiratory revenue +4.6% (cc +3.5%); Labs +5% (cc +4.4%), Immunohematology +7.7% (cc +5.2%); OUS strength in LatAm, China, and EMEA .
Product/portfolio: FDA 510(k) clearance of VITROS high-sensitivity troponin strengthens cardiac panel; CEO: “elevates our cardiac panel to world-class performance … earlier detection” .

What Went Wrong

Respiratory/COVID drag: Q3 respiratory revenue $112M, with COVID revenue down ~63% YoY; flu also down 8% YoY (timing) .
Goodwill impairment and GAAP loss: Q3 GAAP diluted loss per share $(10.78) on a $701M goodwill impairment; GAAP operating margin (101%) .
Seasonality and mix headwinds ahead: Management flagged Q4 margin likely lower sequentially due to higher instrument mix and incentive comp—dynamic to watch into early 2026 .

Financial Results

Headline P&L vs Trend and Q1 2026E

Metric	Q1 2025	Q2 2025	Q3 2025	Q1 2026E
Revenue ($USD Billions)	$0.693	$0.614	$0.700	$0.712*
Adjusted Diluted EPS ($)	$0.74	$0.12	$0.80	$0.82*
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$159.8	$106.8	$177.1	$181.7*
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	23.1%	17.4%	25.3%	—
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)	$(0.19)	$(3.77)	$(10.78)	—

Values with asterisks (*) are S&P Global consensus estimates retrieved via GetEstimates (Primary EPS Consensus Mean, Revenue Consensus Mean, EBITDA Consensus Mean). Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Segment Revenue Breakdown

Business Unit ($USD Millions)	Q1 2025	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Labs	$373.1	$369.7	$373.8
Immunohematology	$128.5	$132.3	$142.0
Donor Screening	$12.8	$13.3	$14.7
Point of Care	$170.8	$93.0	$164.6
Molecular Diagnostics	$7.6	$5.6	$4.8
Total	$692.8	$613.9	$699.9

KPIs and Mix

KPI ($USD Millions unless noted)	Q1 2025	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Non-Respiratory Revenue	$573.0	$567.2	$587.6
Respiratory Revenue	$119.8	$46.7	$112.3
Adjusted EBITDA	$159.8	$106.8	$177.1
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	23.1%	17.4%	25.3%

Notes: Q2 respiratory included ~$9M COVID revenue; management reduced FY25 COVID revenue outlook to $70–$100M .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Total Revenue (reported)	FY 2025	$2.60–$2.81B (maintained in Q1/Q2)	$2.68–$2.74B	Narrowed (same midpoint)
Adjusted EBITDA	FY 2025	$575–$615M (22% margin)	$585–$605M (22% margin)	Narrowed (same midpoint)
Adjusted Diluted EPS	FY 2025	$2.07–$2.57	$2.00–$2.15	Lowered due to interest (+~$17M) and higher ETR (+~1ppt); ~$0.19 EPS impact from interest and ~$0.05 from taxes at midpoint
COVID Revenue	FY 2025	$110–$140M (prior)	$70–$100M	Lowered
Interest Expense	FY 2025	—	~$177M	Updated higher post-refinance
Effective Tax Rate	FY 2025	~24% (implied prior)	~25%	Updated higher (mix/tariff mitigation)
FX (Revenue/EBITDA)	FY 2025	Negative $29M (Q1 deck)	Neutral (as of Oct rates)	Improved
EBITDA Cost Savings (incremental)	FY 2025	$25–$50M (indirect procurement)	$30–$40M (Q3 framing)	In-range

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q1 2025, Q2 2025)	Current Period (Q3 2025)	Trend
Cost savings/margins	Q1: 450bps adj. EBITDA margin improvement; integration costs ongoing . Q2: +330bps; $100M annualized savings achieved .	25% adj. EBITDA; non-GAAP opex -7%; targeting mid-high 20s margins .	Improving; savings compounding.
Respiratory/COVID	Q1: Respiratory $120M; ex-COVID +11% . Q2: COVID guidance cut to $70–$100M; flu unchanged .	COVID -63% YoY; flu -8% (timing); expect typical seasonality into Q4/Q1 .	Lower COVID base; normal seasonality.
China/VBP/DRG	Q1: China -1.4% (cc flat-ish) . Q2: Mid-single-digit FY growth guide; limited VBP/DRG impact .	~5% cc growth; continued resilience in stat labs; watch localization policy .	Stable mid-single-digit outlook.
Tariffs	Q2: Gross headwind cut to $20–$25M; mitigations make net tailwind .	“Expect to fully offset in 2025” .	Managed; largely mitigated.
Product pipeline	Q1: Execution; menu expansions in labs . Q2: Lex Velo platform strategy and timeline .	FDA 510(k) hs Troponin I on VITROS; early-stage next-gen instruments; Lex FDA late ’25/early ’26 .	Positive portfolio momentum.
Donor Screening exit	Q1: DS down 62% . Q2: DS down 61% .	DS -47% YoY; revenue to fully wind down 1H26; ~50bps margin accretion later ’26/’27 .	Headwind abating by mid-2026.
Cash/Leverage	Q1: Operating cash +$66M . Q2: H1 recurring FCF $15M; 25–30% EBITDA for FY; net debt/EBITDA 4.2x .	ERP timing hit Q3 cash; reiterate 25–30% FY conversion; net debt/EBITDA 4.4x; consolidated 3.8x .	Seasonal/ERP timing; path to improve.

Management Commentary

“We reported organic sales growth of 5%, excluding COVID sales and the U.S. donor screening business… We also delivered significant improvements to adjusted EBITDA, expanding to 25% of sales in the quarter” — CEO Brian Blaser .
“Our team is aggressively executing further cost improvements… and we continue to expect to fully offset [tariff] impacts in 2025.” — CEO .
“We booked a $701 million goodwill impairment… We have no goodwill remaining on the balance sheet as of the end of Q3.” — CFO Joe Busky .
“We are updating our adjusted diluted EPS guidance solely to reflect the higher interest expense and the taxes… we now expect full year 2025 adjusted diluted EPS of $2–$2.15.” — CFO .
Product: “This new [VITROS hs troponin] test… allows for earlier detection of patients having a heart attack.” — CEO ; 510(k) clearance announcement .

Q&A Highlights

Q4 margin cadence: Expect slightly lower sequential margin vs Q3 given higher instrument mix in Q4 and higher incentive comp; FY25 midpoint unchanged .
China: Mid-single-digit FY growth maintained; business less exposed to BBP/DRG due to stat lab focus; monitoring localization policy .
Donor Screening: Residual $40–$50M revenue in 2025; wind-down complete 1H26; ~50bps margin accretion later 2026/early 2027 as stranded costs removed .
Lex Diagnostics: FDA decision late 2025/early 2026; limited 1H26 rollout with broader placements in 2H26; dilutive to margins in 2026; accretive only as scale builds (2027/2028) .
Free cash flow conversion: FY25 recurring FCF reiterated at 25–30% of adjusted EBITDA; path to ~50% by mid-2027; ERP conversion timing weighed on Q3 .

Estimates Context

Metric	Q1 2026 Consensus	FY 2026 Consensus
Revenue ($USD Billions)	$0.712*	$2.769*
Primary EPS ($)	$0.823*	$2.535*
EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$182*	$654*
Target Price (Mean, $)	$37.67*	$37.67*

Values with asterisks (*) are S&P Global consensus estimates retrieved via GetEstimates. Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Context vs prior-year actuals: Q1 2026E revenue $0.712B* vs Q1 2025 actual $0.693B (+~2.8%); Q1 2026E EPS $0.82* vs Q1 2025 $0.74 (+~11%); Q1 2026E EBITDA $182M* vs Q1 2025 $159.8M (+~14%) . Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Potential estimate revision drivers: instrument/reagent mix in Q4/Q1, COVID/flu testing trends, timing of Lex approvals/early placements, and cadence of indirect procurement savings .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Margin story intact: Execution on cost savings is lifting profitability (Q3 adj. EBITDA margin 25.3%); FY25 margin guide 22% looks conservative if mix/tariffs remain favorable .
Core ex-COVID growth steady: Labs and Immunohematology continue mid-single-digit growth globally; OUS strength and under-penetrated immunoassay opportunity support 2026 trajectory .
Transitory drags abating: Donor Screening wind-down ends 1H26; stranded cost removal provides ~50bps margin tailwind later 2026/early 2027 .
New catalysts: VITROS hs-troponin 510(k) enhances cardiac menu; Lex could expand POC molecular franchise beginning 2026 (dilutive initially), with scale benefits by 2027/28 .
Watch Q1 mix/seasonality: Instrument-heavy periods pressure margin; look for reagent pull-through and combo test durability (>50% flu mix assumption) .
Balance sheet/cash: Refinancing improves flexibility but raises interest to ~$177M in 2025; recurring FCF conversion targeted at 25–30% in 2025, stepping toward 50% by mid-2027 .
Set-up into Q1 2026: Consensus implies modest revenue/EPS growth vs Q1 2025; upside likely tied to ex-COVID momentum, procurement savings cadence, and early Lex/troponin commercialization signals. Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Note on source availability: Q1 2026 8-K 2.02 and earnings call transcript were not available in the document corpus at the time of analysis. We reviewed the latest available primary sources: Q3 2025 earnings press release and transcript, Q2 2025 press release and transcript, Q1 2025 press release, and relevant product press releases .

QuidelOrtho Corp (QDEL)·Q1 2026 Earnings Summary