QDEL Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, 2026 Guidance Lowered

GAAP loss per share for the quarter was $1.36 compared with the year-earlier loss of $3.77.

QDEL’s Revenues in Detail

QuidelOrtho registered revenues of $630.9 million in the second quarter of 2026, which increased 2.8% year over year on a reported basis and 1.9% at constant exchange rate (CER). The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.65%.

In the second quarter, Respiratory revenues were $47.9 million (up 2.6% on a reported basis and 2.5% at CER), while Non-Respiratory revenues were $583 million (up 2.8% on a reported basis and 1.8% at CER).

QuidelOrtho’s Business Units in Detail

QuidelOrtho derives revenues from five business units — Labs, Immunohematology, Donor Screening, Point of Care and Molecular Diagnostics. As a result of the wind-down of the U.S. Donor Screening portfolio, the previously reported Transfusion Medicine business unit is now presented in its two product categories — Immunohematology and Donor Screening.

In the second quarter, Labs revenues were $382.9 million, up 3.6% on a reported basis and 2.4% at CER.

Immunohematology revenues were $134.2 million in the second quarter, up 1.4% and 0.7% on a reported basis and at CER, respectively.

Donor Screening revenues were $4 million in the second quarter, down 69.9% on a reported basis and 69.5% at CER.

Point of Care revenues amounted to $108.2 million in the second quarter, reflecting increases of 16.3% on a reported basis and 15.7% at CER.

Molecular Diagnostics revenues totaled $1.6 million in the second quarter, down 71.4% on a reported basis and 72% at CER.

QDEL’s Geographical Distribution

Geographically, QuidelOrtho derives revenues from North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), China, Latin America and Japan and other Asia-Pacific markets (JPAC).

Revenues from North America amounted to $327.4 million, reflecting an increase of 5.4% on a reported basis and 5.8% at constant exchange rate (CER).

EMEA revenues amounted to $91.2 million, reflecting an increase of 4.5% on a reported basis and 1.5% at CER.

Revenues from China amounted to $67.8 million, reflecting a decrease of 18.7% on a reported basis and 23.3% at CER.

Revenues from JPAC amounted to $74.3 million, reflecting an uptick of 2.9% on a reported basis and 10.5% at CER.

Revenues from Latin America amounted to $70.2 million, reflecting an uptick of 16.4% on a reported basis and 7.8% at CER.

QuidelOrtho’s Margin Trend

In the quarter under review, QuidelOrtho’s adjusted gross profit declined 0.2% year over year to $279.9 million. The adjusted gross margin contracted 130 basis points (bps) to 44.4%.

Adjusted selling, marketing and administrative expenses increased 2% year over year to $174 million. Adjusted research and development expenses remained flat year over year at $45 million. Adjusted operating expenses of $219 million increased 2% year over year.

Adjusted operating profit totaled $60.2 million, flat year over year. Adjusted operating margin in the second quarter contracted 30 bps to 9.5%.

QDEL’s Financial Position

QuidelOrtho exited the second quarter of 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $123.4 million compared with $140.4 million at the end of the first quarter of 2026. Total debt (including short-term debt) at the end of second-quarter 2026 was $2.89 billion compared with $2.69 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Cumulative net cash used by operating activities at the end of the second quarter was $143.6 million, against net cash provided by operating activities of $18.8 million a year ago.

QuidelOrtho Cuts 2026 Outlook on Market Headwinds

QuidelOrtho lowered its 2026 revenue guidance to $2.52-$2.60 billion from $2.70-$2.75 billion. Management expects China weakness to persist through the year and adopted more conservative assumptions for the upcoming respiratory season amid lower test positivity and softer early indicators.

Adjusted EBITDA guidance was reduced to $540-$560 million from $615-$630 million, with the margin outlook lowered to 21%-22% from 23%. Adjusted earnings guidance now calls for 65-90 cents per share compared with the previous range of $1.80-$2.00.

Following the reduced guidance for 2026, shares of the company lost around 25% in Friday’s trading session.

Our Take

QuidelOrtho ended the second quarter of 2026 on a strong note, with both earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company benefited from solid growth in its Labs and Point of Care businesses, while strength across North America, JPAC and Latin America was encouraging. Adjusted EBITDA rose year over year and the corresponding margin expanded, reflecting benefits from productivity initiatives and disciplined expense management.

However, persistent weakness in China and a softer respiratory testing environment remain major concerns. China revenues declined sharply amid uncertainty related to proposed in vitro diagnostics pricing guidelines, while the company also adopted a more cautious outlook for the upcoming respiratory season. These headwinds prompted QuidelOrtho to lower its 2026 revenues, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings guidance and withdraw its free cash flow outlook. Negative operating cash flow, elevated leverage and weak cash conversion also remain key areas to watch.

Meanwhile, progress on the NULEXA point-of-care molecular platform remains a key positive. Following the LEX Diagnostics acquisition, QuidelOrtho has advanced manufacturing scale-up, supply-chain readiness and commercial launch preparations. Management expects customer placements and test utilization to gain momentum during the upcoming respiratory season, with NULEXA providing a platform for future menu expansion and leveraging the company’s existing point-of-care commercial infrastructure.

QDEL’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

QDEL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are McKesson MCK, Phibro Animal Health PAHC and Cardinal Health CAH.

McKesson carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present and has an estimated long-term growth rate of 13.7%. MCK’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 3.09%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

McKessonshares have gained 8.8% against the industry’s 12.7% decline in the year-to-date period.

Phibro Animal Health, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 21.5%. PAHC’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 16.25%.

Phibro Animal Health stock has climbed 44.2% against the industry’s 17.1% decline in the year-to-date period.

Cardinal Health, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 17%. CAH’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 10.27%.

Cardinal Health’s shares have lost 2.6% compared with the industry’s 3.1% decline in the year-to-date period.

Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"

Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.

This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research