Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. 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 Down 2.0%

NYSE FTV traded down $1.22 on Thursday, reaching $58.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,762,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,416,828. 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 has a 1 year low of $46.34 and a 1 year high of $64.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.02 and a 200-day moving average of $58.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96 and a beta of 1.06.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fortive from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fortive from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Fortive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.10.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 47,557 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,337,901.80. This trade represents a 35.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Fortive by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 44,157,822 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,437,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,028 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 20,483,680 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,003,495,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,056 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Fortive by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,046,352 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,106,760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,532,031 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 7.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,507,930 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $367,814,000 after purchasing an additional 497,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,626,871 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $310,809,000 after buying an additional 2,316,202 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortive exceeded expectations with 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. Fortive second-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying operating momentum improved: core revenue growth accelerated to 6.7%, adjusted EBITDA rose 12%, and adjusted EPS increased 28%, helped by resilient demand in Fortive’s industrial automation business. Reuters report on Fortive’s automation business
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $2.95-$3.05 and continued returning capital through share repurchases, signaling confidence in cash generation and future performance. Zacks Fortive earnings analysis

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.