THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC (TMO)·Q4 2025 Earnings Summary

Thermo Fisher Beats Q4, Guides 6-8% EPS Growth — Stock Falls 4% on Cautious Tone

January 29, 2026 · by Fintool AI Agent

Thermo Fisher Scientific delivered a solid beat in Q4 2025, with revenue of $12.21 billion exceeding consensus by 2.7% and adjusted EPS of $6.57 topping estimates by 1.9% . However, shares fell ~4% as management's 2026 outlook assumed "market conditions pretty similar to 2025" with 3-4% organic growth — disappointing investors hoping for a more optimistic recovery narrative .

Did Thermo Fisher Beat Earnings?

Yes — Thermo Fisher beat on both revenue and adjusted EPS.

This marks another consecutive quarter of beats for Thermo Fisher. Revenue growth of 7% YoY was driven by 3% organic growth, 2% contribution from acquisitions, and 2% FX tailwind . Adjusted EPS grew 8% versus Q4 2024 .

How Did the Stock React?

Shares fell ~4.5% to $580.73, giving back strong after-hours gains as the cautious 2026 outlook disappointed investors.

The stock initially gapped up at the open following the Q4 beat, but sold off throughout the session as investors digested the conservative 2026 guidance. TMO remains well above its 52-week low of $385.46 but has retreated from its recent high of $643.99.

What Did Management Guide for 2026?

The 2026 outlook disappointed investors hoping for a more bullish tone.

Key assumptions behind the guide :

• Market conditions "pretty similar to 2025" — no meaningful improvement assumed
• Q1 organic growth ~1% (couple points below full year) with low single-digit EPS growth
• Guidance based on tariffs in place today — doesn't contemplate future changes
• $600M inorganic revenue from 2025 acquisitions (20bps margin headwind)

Clario accretion not included: The $9B acquisition is expected to close mid-2026 and add $0.20-$0.25 to adjusted EPS, taking total EPS growth to 7-9% .

CEO Marc Casper on the outlook :

"We're actually assuming market conditions are gonna be pretty similar to 2025. We had just under 1 point of pandemic runoff in 2025... adjusted for that, we roughly had 3% growth last year. What we expect is that the absence of the negatives will start to allow for conditions to improve and build within that range."

What Changed From Last Quarter?

Revenue acceleration: Q4 revenue of $12.21B was up from $11.12B in Q3 (+10% sequential), reflecting typical seasonality plus acquisition contributions .

Life Sciences Solutions surged: The segment delivered 13% YoY growth, led by another quarter of excellent growth in bioproduction .

Analytical Instruments margins compressed: Segment margin fell 420bps to 26.3% — majority driven by tariffs and related FX impact .

Clinical research returned to growth: Mid-single-digit growth in Q4 after turning positive in Q3, with authorizations running ahead of revenue .

What Did Segments Deliver?

Key callouts:

• Life Sciences led by bioproduction strength; filtration acquisition integration going well
• Analytical Instruments pressured by tariffs/FX — strong productivity offset by unfavorable mix
• Lab Products saw broad-based strength in channel, pharma services, and clinical research

Q&A Highlights: What Analysts Asked

On Pharma/Biotech Sentiment

Dan Arias (Stifel) asked if improved pharma sentiment is translating to spending plans .

Casper's response :

"When I think about the tone... pharma, consistent with what we've been hearing, which is good confidence around the ability to navigate governments, and excitement around their pipeline. From biotech, funding is starting to improve, but the tone was incredibly positive... January, in terms of sentiment, was quite positive."

He shared two customer anecdotes illustrating "Trusted Partner" status — meeting a pharma CEO who spontaneously called over his head of development for immediate follow-ups, and spending a half-day with a biotech management team working through priorities .

On Pharma Services Capacity

Jack Meehan (Nephron Research) asked about supply/demand dynamics in pharma services .

Casper noted sterile fill-finish has "heightened demand relative to industry capacity" — driving the Sanofi site acquisition. "We're winning contracts to meet our pharmaceutical customers' needs for reshoring to the U.S."

On AI in Drug Development

Matt Larew (William Blair) asked about ecosystem changes and the Accelerator offering .

Casper highlighted the OpenAI collaboration focuses on "how do you further shave time and cost out of the process" in clinical research. On AI in discovery, he noted :

"Our experience historically is the more confidence you have in the research, you wind up doing actually more wet lab experimentation. You're probably going to work on less things that are just going to fail, so there is some waste that comes out. But customers want total confidence in the work... we're actually quite optimistic about the intersection between AI and demand for wet lab research."

On Academic & Government

Casey Woodring (JP Morgan) asked about U.S. academic outlook .

Casper expects "a level of customer caution that will probably abate as the year goes down" but assumes a "more cautious environment" for 2026. A flat-to-slightly-up NIH budget "should create tailwinds" once finalized .

Full Year 2025 Performance

Management navigated over 100bps of tariff and FX headwinds while still expanding margins and growing EPS 5% .

Capital Deployment & M&A

Thermo Fisher deployed $16.5 billion in capital during 2025 :

M&A ($13B committed):

• Solventum Filtration & Separation (~$4B) — enhances bioproduction; integration going smoothly
• Sanofi Ridgefield fill-finish site — expands U.S. drug product manufacturing capacity
• Clario acquisition (~$9B, pending) — endpoint data solutions for clinical trials; expected to close mid-2026

Shareholder returns ($3.6B):

• $3B stock buybacks + ~$600M dividends
• Additional $3B buybacks already completed in January 2026

CFO Transition

Stephen Williamson will retire at the end of March 2026 after 10 years as CFO and 25 years at Thermo Fisher .

Jim Meyer, a 17-year company veteran, will assume the CFO role .

Casper praised Williamson's "consistent passion for developing people and building a world-class finance function" .

Strategic Highlights

Innovation launches in 2025 :

• Orbitrap Astral Zoom mass spectrometer — "significant leap forward" with strong customer adoption
• Krios 5 Cryo-TEM for structural biology
• 5L DynaDrive Single-Use Bioreactor
• Helios MX1 Plasma FIB-SEM for semiconductor analysis (Q4)
• FDA approval for Ion Torrent Oncomine Dx as companion diagnostic for Bayer lung cancer therapy
• 510(k) clearance for EXENT System (multiple myeloma diagnosis)

Strategic partnerships :

• OpenAI collaboration — embed AI across operations and products to accelerate drug development
• Chan Zuckerberg Institute alliance — develop new biological imaging technologies
• NVIDIA collaboration — announced early 2026, applying AI to analytical capabilities

Balance Sheet Snapshot

Debt increased for acquisition financing; cash building ahead of Clario close.

Risks & Concerns Flagged

1. Conservative 2026 outlook — Management assuming no market improvement disappoints bulls
2. Q1 weakness — ~1% organic growth and low single-digit EPS growth in Q1
3. Analytical Instruments margin pressure — 420bps decline driven by tariffs/FX
4. China weakness — Mid-single-digit decline for full year 2025; low single-digit decline in Q4
5. Free cash flow decline — FCF of $6.34B was down 13% YoY due to working capital timing
6. Tariff uncertainty — Guidance doesn't contemplate additional tariffs

Forward Catalysts

• Q1 2026 results — Will organic growth track to plan?
• Clario acquisition close (mid-2026) — $0.20-$0.25 EPS accretion
• Biotech funding trajectory — Improving tone, 6-month lag to spending
• NIH budget resolution — Could unlock academic/government spending
• AI integration — OpenAI and NVIDIA collaborations ramping

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View the full Q4 2025 earnings call transcript or explore Thermo Fisher's company profile.