Conferencia de resultados del 3T 2026 de Dentsply Sirona (XRAY): recorte de previsiones ante la caída de las ventas dentales

Puntos clave

• Dentsply Sirona registró unos ingresos de 836 millones de dólares en el tercer trimestre de 2026, lo que representa un descenso del 7,6% en términos reportados y del 7,0% en moneda constante, como reflejo de la presión en sus negocios dentales, la ausencia de ingresos procedentes de Byte y las reducciones planificadas de inventario por parte de los distribuidores.
• Al excluir a Byte, los cerca de 10 millones de dólares en reducciones planificadas de inventario de distribuidores y otros eventos extraordinarios puntuales, los ingresos cayeron un 3,8% en moneda constante.
• El BPA ajustado descendió a 0,29 dólares desde los 0,42 dólares del año anterior. Los resultados incluyeron un beneficio antes de impuestos de 39 millones de dólares derivado de un cambio en una estimación contable vinculada al beneficio intercompany por inventarios; la dirección no prevé un beneficio similar en periodos futuros.
• La empresa prevé ahora unos ingresos para todo el año de aproximadamente 3.500 millones de dólares y un BPA ajustado de entre 1,20 y 1,30 dólares, excluyendo una ganancia extraordinaria de 0,17 dólares por reembolsos arancelarios. Los rangos previos se situaban entre 3.500 y 3.600 millones de dólares y entre 1,40 y 1,50 dólares, respectivamente.
• Wellspect HealthCare registró unas ventas trimestrales récord de 92 millones de dólares, lo que supone un aumento del 10%, mientras que los implantes MIS en Estados Unidos crecieron en el rango bajo de dos dígitos y la división de endodoncia en el país volvió a crecer por primera vez desde el segundo trimestre de 2025.
• El flujo de caja operativo disminuyó a 32 millones de dólares frente a los 79 millones de dólares anteriores, debido principalmente a un capital circulante desfavorable. La ratio de deuda neta sobre EBITDA al cierre del trimestre se situó en 3,4 veces, y la dirección afirmó que la reducción de deuda continúa siendo una prioridad en la asignación de capital.

Datos financieros principales

Rendimiento comercial y operativo

Las ventas de Connected Technology Solutions se situaron en 230 millones de dólares, lo que supone un descenso del 11% en términos reportados. Los ingresos de Equipment and Instruments cayeron en el rango alto de un solo dígito hasta los 137 millones de dólares. El crecimiento de un dígito bajo en instrumentos, impulsado en Estados Unidos por la alianza con A-dec, compensó en parte la caída de los volúmenes globales de imagenología.

Los ingresos de CAD/CAM alcanzaron los 93 millones de dólares. Los menores volúmenes en América reflejaron el ajuste planificado de inventario con los distribuidores. Japón registró un sólido desempeño en escáneres intraorales y fresadoras, mientras que EMEA se enfrentó a la debilidad del gasto de capital y a la presión de precios de competidores de bajo coste.

Los ingresos de Essential Dental Solutions cayeron un 4% hasta los 343 millones de dólares, debido principalmente a menores volúmenes en endodoncia y a precios más débiles en EMEA. La endodoncia en Estados Unidos creció un 4%, volviendo al terreno positivo por primera vez desde el segundo trimestre de 2025. Los productos preventivos registraron un crecimiento de dos dígitos en EMEA y APAC.

Los ingresos de Orthodontic and Implant Solutions cayeron un 17% hasta los 171 millones de dólares, incluyendo un impacto negativo de seis puntos porcentuales procedente de Byte. Los ingresos por implantes disminuyeron a 132 millones de dólares, ya que los menores volúmenes mundiales de implantes premium superaron el crecimiento de dos dígitos de MIS en Estados Unidos. Los ingresos de SureSmile se situaron en 39 millones de dólares, donde la ausencia de ventas de Byte y los menores volúmenes en Estados Unidos fueron compensados parcialmente por un crecimiento del 8% en EMEA.

Los ingresos de Wellspect HealthCare aumentaron un 10% hasta un récord de 92 millones de dólares, respaldados por mayores volúmenes y ventas de nuevos productos, especialmente en Estados Unidos. La dirección señaló que el impulso de Wellspect debería mantenerse durante el resto de 2026 y hasta 2027, aunque la empresa no proporcionó previsiones formales para 2027.

Dentsply Sirona continuó invirtiendo en su plan Return-to-Growth. El gasto en formación clínica en Norteamérica durante el segundo semestre de 2026 se multiplicó por seis respecto al año anterior, mientras que el gasto en I+D aumentó cerca de un 20% hasta septiembre. Asimismo, la compañía busca alcanzar aproximadamente 120 millones de dólares en ahorros para 2026 a través de su oficina de transformación.

Previsiones de la dirección

Dentsply Sirona prevé ahora unos ingresos para todo el año 2026 de aproximadamente 3.500 millones de dólares, en comparación con su rango anterior de entre 3.500 y 3.600 millones de dólares.

Se espera que el BPA ajustado se sitúe entre 1,20 y 1,30 dólares, por debajo del rango previo de 1,40 a 1,50 dólares y excluyendo la ganancia extraordinaria de 0,17 dólares por reembolsos arancelarios. La previsión revisada incluye el beneficio antes de impuestos de 39 millones de dólares por la estimación contable, equivalente a aproximadamente 30 millones de dólares después de impuestos.

La dirección atribuyó aproximadamente tres cuartas partes del recorte en las previsiones de BPA al menor rendimiento en EMEA y al conflicto en Oriente Próximo. Un tipo impositivo desfavorable y las inversiones estratégicas representaron el resto, compensados en parte por las iniciativas de gestión de costes y el beneficio contable vinculado a los inventarios.

Para el cuarto trimestre, la dirección afirmó que el rango actualizado sería alcanzable si determinados mercados mejoran y la combinación de productos se vuelve más favorable. La compañía también prevé que la fortaleza habitual del cuarto trimestre en bienes de equipo respalde una mejora secuencial.

La dirección no proporcionó previsiones específicas para 2027. Actualmente se encuentra desarrollando la siguiente fase del plan Return-to-Growth y espera perfilar sus perspectivas tras una mayor planificación interna y deliberaciones con el consejo de administración.

Riesgos y factores a seguir

• Los volúmenes en el sector dental continúan bajo presión, con compras de equipos limitadas por la cautela en el gasto de capital de los clientes y por la preocupación sobre la asequibilidad, lo que afecta a los procedimientos electivos.
• Los resultados de EMEA se están viendo afectados por las reducciones de inventario de los distribuidores, la competencia de menor coste, una menor demanda de bienes de equipo y las perturbaciones provocadas por los conflictos en Oriente Próximo y zonas de Europa del Este.
• El aumento de los costes de transporte y distribución sigue lastrando la rentabilidad.
• No se prevé que el beneficio de 39 millones de dólares por la estimación contable se repita, ya que refleja múltiples ejercicios y no el rendimiento operativo del tercer trimestre.
• El flujo de caja operativo sigue bajo presión debido a un capital circulante desfavorable.
• La dirección sigue financiando las ventas, la formación clínica y la I+D a pesar de la presión sobre el negocio a corto plazo, lo que limita la capacidad de las reducciones de costes para compensar unos menores ingresos.

Aspectos destacados de la sesión de preguntas y respuestas con analistas

La dirección señaló que su equipo ampliado de DSO mantiene conversaciones con organizaciones de múltiples segmentos. Dentsply Sirona pretende aprovechar la amplitud de su cartera de equipos y consumibles para desarrollar propuestas comerciales personalizadas, aunque describió esta oportunidad como de largo plazo.

Respecto al desempeño en Estados Unidos, el consejero delegado Daniel Scavilla mantuvo la aspiración de alcanzar un crecimiento positivo modesto para el cuarto trimestre de 2026, aunque reconoció que dicho objetivo es exigente. Afirmó que una mejor cobertura del equipo de ventas, una menor rotación voluntaria, la formación clínica y una mayor rapidez en la conversión de clientes de MIS están respaldando un impulso inicial.

La dirección atribuyó el crecimiento de MIS y de los implantes de valor en Estados Unidos principalmente a la expansión del equipo de ventas, la conversión de cuentas y la formación clínica. La empresa tiene como objetivo casi duplicar el equipo comercial de MIS para finales de año, mientras que las actividades de formación en implantes han aumentado más de un 60%.

El director financiero John Fortson confirmó que el beneficio contable de inventarios de 39 millones de dólares antes de impuestos está incluido en las previsiones actualizadas. La dirección añadió que otras partidas extraordinarias de compensación redujeron el efecto operativo neto estimado a entre 0,01 y 0,02 dólares por acción aproximadamente.

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Comentarios de la dirección

Operator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q3 2026 Dentsply Sirona Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that this conference call is being recorded.

I would now like to hand the conference over to the first speaker today, Suzanne Hatcher, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Suzanne Hatcher

Thank you, Stephanie. Welcome to the Dentsply Sirona Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Joining me for today's call are Dan Scavilla, President and Chief Executive Officer; and John Fortson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. I'd like to remind you that an earnings press release and slide presentation related to the call are available on the Investors section of our website at www.dentsplysirona.com.

Before we begin, please take a moment to read the forward-looking statements in our earnings press release. During today's call, we may make certain forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future performance and financial results. We base these statements and certain assumptions and expectations on future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Our most recently filed Form 10-K and any updated information and subsequent Form 10-Q or other SEC filings list with some of the most important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from our predictions.

On today's call, our remarks will be based on non-GAAP financial results. We believe that non-GAAP financial measures offer investors valuable additional insights into our business' financial performance enable the comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independently of business performance and enhanced transparency regard key metrics utilized by management in operating our business. Please refer to our press release for the reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP results. Comparisons provided are to the prior year quarter unless otherwise noted. A webcast replay of today's call will be available on the Investors section of the company's website following this call.

And with that, I will now turn the call over to Dan.

Daniel Scavilla

Thank you, Suzanne, and good afternoon, everyone. We continue to advance our Return to Growth action plan in the third quarter. We expanded customer access, strengthened our commercial organization and increased investment in clinical education and innovation. Wellspect HealthCare delivered record sales, and we are seeing green shoots in parts of our U.S. dental business. We are making progress, but our results are not yet where they need to be. Our priority is now turning early gains in the broader sustained improvement through stronger execution.

We now expect full year net sales of approximately $3.5 billion versus the range of $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion previously and adjusted EPS of $1.20 to $1.30 from $1.40 to $1.50, excluding the $0.17 onetime gain from tariff refunds. Additional cost actions have not fully offset business pressures as we continue to invest in our sales force, clinical education and innovation. As stated before, these investments will continue because they are essential to returning to sustainable growth.

Before I turn the call over, John joined us in July and has now completed his first full quarter with Dentsply Sirona. He brings a practical approach to improving performance and has already built close trusted relationships with our teams to strengthen financial visibility and challenge cost. He's an excellent partner and I'm confident he will continue to make significant contribution to Dentsply Sirona.

John, over to you.

John Fortson

Thanks, Dan, and good afternoon, everyone. Since joining Dentsply Sirona, I've met with our teams, distributors and partners to better understand our businesses, financial performance and return to growth opportunities. These discussions have reinforced my confidence in our brands customer relationships and innovation capabilities. We have tangible progress to build on. As Dan shared, Wellspect delivered double-digit record revenue growth this quarter, supported by new products and we saw positive momentum in the U.S. dental business.

We remain diligent on costs in a dynamic environment while investing in our return to growth action plan. We are also strengthening our financial systems and access to detailed data to support better decisions. My priorities are to translate these capabilities into more consistent execution disciplined investment and stronger cash generation. Let's move to Q3 results. Third quarter revenue was $836 million, down 7.6% as reported and 7% in constant currency. The decline reflected continued pressure across our Dental businesses, including the absence of Byte revenue and planned dealer inventory reductions.

Excluding Byte, approximately $10 million of planned dealer inventory reductions and other discrete onetime events, revenue declined 3.8% in constant currency. Turning to profitability. Adjusted gross margin improved 190 basis points year-over-year, while adjusted gross profit declined approximately $20 million. These results included a $39 million benefit from a change in accounting estimate in preparation for the implementation of a new financial consolidation system. More detailed data enabled us to refine our estimate of profit included an inventory transfer between our businesses.

This increased third quarter gross profit and pretax income by approximately $39 million. The benefit reflects a multiyear period rather than third quarter operating performance, and we do not expect a similar benefit in future periods. We will continue to refine and improve our ability to analyze and forecast our business. Lower dental volumes and higher distribution costs weighed on gross profit, partially offset by cost management initiatives and favorable manufacturing absorption.

Adjusted operating expenses increased $3 million year-over-year as we continued to invest in sales, clinical education and R&D to support our return to growth action plan. partially offset by cost management initiatives. Together, these factors resulted in a 110 basis point decline in adjusted EBITDA margin. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.29 in the third quarter, down $0.13 from the prior year quarter. Turning to cash flow. Operating cash flow was $32 million compared with $79 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease was primarily driven by unfavorable working capital.

In the third quarter, we opportunistically repurchased 1.2 million shares. This is the second consecutive quarter where we have executed share repurchases returning $25 million to shareholders through repurchases year-to-date. We finished the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $195 million, and our third quarter net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 3.4. We continue to prioritize debt reduction as a core tenet of our capital allocation strategy. Let's now turn to third quarter segment performance. CTS sales were $230 million, down 11% as reported.

Growth in instruments in EMEA and the Americas and Japan, CAD/CAM partially offset broader equipment headwinds. Equipment and Instruments revenue was $137 million, down high single digits as reported. Instruments grew low single digits, supported by U.S. momentum through our A-dec partnership and 4% growth in [ Integra ] handpieces in EMEA, partially offsetting lower global imaging volumes. CAD/CAM revenue was $93 million as reported, primarily reflecting lower Americas volumes from the planned strategic inventory shift with distributors.

APAC partially offset the decline led by strong intraoral scanner and mill performance in Japan. In EMEA, pricing pressure from lower-cost entrants and softer capital demand weighed on results as uncertainties surrounding the Middle East conflict led some providers to defer investments. Turning to EDS, which includes endodontic, restorative and preventive products, sales declined 4% as reported to $343 million. primarily driven by lower endodontic volumes and lower pricing in EMEA. Higher Americas volumes led by strong file growth and restorative blocks, partially offset the decline.

U.S. endo returned to growth for the first time since Q2 2025, while preventive grew double digits in EMEA and APAC. OIS revenue was $171 million, down 17% as reported, including a 6% Byte year-over-year negative impact. Implants revenue declined to $132 million as lower global premium implant volumes were partially offset by double-digit U.S. growth in MIS, our value implant brand. In Ortho, SureSmile revenue declined to $39 million, primarily attributable to the absence of Byte sales and lower U.S. volumes.

EMEA growth of 8% partially offset the decline, marking the region's 6th quarter of mid-single-digit or better growth in 7 quarters year-over-year. Wellspect HealthCare revenue increased 10% to $92 million as reported, driven by higher volumes and strong new product sales, particularly [ surety ] in the U.S. market. Wellspect has delivered consistent growth throughout 2026 as investments begun in 2025 drive new products, broader market reach and sustained commercial momentum. Now let's discuss our 2026 outlook.

As Dan shared at the start of the call, we now expect full year net sales of approximately $3.5 billion compared with our previous range of $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion. and adjusted EPS of $1.20 to $1.30 from $1.40 to $1.50, excluding the $0.17 onetime gain from tariff refunds. This revision reflects a prudent response while sustaining investment in sales, clinical education, innovation, areas historically underfunded and that are essential to our future growth. U.S. performance met expectations with momentum building, while Wellspect delivered record quarterly sales.

EMEA distributor inventory reductions, the Middle East conflict and higher freight costs continue to pressure results. Relative to prior EPS guidance, EMEA underperformance in the Middle East conflict accounted for roughly 3/4 of the reduction with an unfavorable tax rate and strategic investments representing the balance. The profit included an inventory benefit and cost management initiatives provided partial offsets. These strategic investments remain central to our return to growth action plan and sustainable long-term growth.

With that, I will turn the call back to Dan.

Daniel Scavilla

Thanks, John. This year, we strengthened our global leadership team and rebuild capabilities essential to our return to growth action plan from sales and dealer coverage to clinical education. We're also bringing greater discipline to product development and simplifying operations. Wellspect U.S. MIS implants in Endo show that focused investment in commercial execution can deliver. Our priority is to build on that progress and drive more consistent performance across the portfolio.

Let me walk through our progress on what comes next. Purchasing decisions remain challenging as customers weigh investments in equipment carefully and affordability influences elective procedures. In the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe, conflicts continue to add pressure to sales, while Western European dealers are holding less inventory. We expect some recovery over time. Like I said before, we cannot count on the market to do this for us. We need to execute better, building on our strong brands, relevant products and long-standing customer relationships to earn more business.

U.S. remains a top focus, and we are encouraged by the green shoots we are seeing. Our focus now is turning that early progress into broader sustained improvements. In the U.S., we have aligned our commercial teams around customer needs and established a dedicated sales training team. All premium implant reps have completed certification and the MIS team is expected to complete training and be certified by the end of this month. Recruitment and retention have improved significantly, with our ability to attract talent adding stability to our commercial teams.

Quota carrying field vacancies are now in the mid-single digits, down from more than 20% in prior years and voluntary sales rep attrition has declined substantially. More consistent coverage helps us deepen customer relationships and follow through on their needs. MIS offers an early example of our progress. MIS sales grew double digits in Q3, with customer conversions accelerating sharply in September. Overall, value implant sales grew more than 7% year-over-year. To build on this momentum, we aim to nearly double the MIS sales force by year-end.

Implant education also increased more than 60%, supporting broader customer adoption. We're seeing early returns in Endo as well with U.S. sales up 4% in the quarter. With 7 new distribution agreements signed year-to-date, we have largely completed our North American dealer expansion efforts. We are now focused on activating that network through training, joint customer visits, demonstrations and installation support. A simpler incentive structure and inventory model also make it easier for our distributors to work with us.

Engagement at our recent DS World events reinforce the opportunity to expand customer access and grow with these partners. We're also strengthening enterprise sales with a sharper focus on DSOs. We've built out a new team to expand on this opportunity and develop action plans to gain share in these markets. Clinical education essential to this effort. After redesigning our U.S. programs in the first half, we're executing in the second half, giving more clinicians hands-on experience with our products and workflows.

Our second half 2026 clinical education investment in North America is 6x greater than last year's level, including more than 160 endo courses and expanded hands-on programs. We are broadening access to education centers, universities and industry events complemented by lectures and virtual learning. Clinician participation is high and demand remains strong. At our recent DS World events globally, we increased workshops, lectures and hands-on continuing education courses by more than 60% versus last year.

Like I said before, the value of clinical education builds over time. We are helping clinicians become more confident, consistent users of our products with our commercial teams following through to support adoption. We're also bringing customer perspectives directly into our decisions through our KOL advisory boards. These candid discussions with small groups of clinicians and dental professionals, help us understand their needs, sharpen innovation priorities, and identifying where we can be better partners.

In turn, we're able to create more awareness of a holistic view of Dentsply Sirona's portfolio strengths and workflow benefits. We began with implant clinicians and recently met with dental laboratory leaders, EDS and CTS discussions are planned by year-end. Together with daily feedback from our field teams, these insights help shape product development, education and service. Dentsply Sirona innovation remains a priority, supported by greater discipline in how we invest. As planned, R&D spend increased approximately 20% through September compared with last year.

Our teams have established a new product development process to strengthen our innovation engine, customer needs guide product requirements with clear decision criteria and rigorous stage gate reviews, helping move the strongest ideas forward. Earlier planning for training and clinical education strengthens launch readiness and supports adoptions. At DS World, we introduced Primescan Connect, powered by DS Core, providing our most affordable scanner option with our high-quality Primescan performance. Practices can use an existing compatible PC without a dedicated laptop, installed scanning software were separate scanning licenses, making it easier to enter digital dentistry.

We are bringing key products in our regenerative portfolio back to the market in the U.S. and Canada. Following regulatory approval for OSSIX, a collagen membrane that supports bone regeneration. We also received Canadian approval for [indiscernible], a collagen scaffold that supports bone and soft tissue regeneration with the U.S. clearance expected soon. These milestones reinforce our leadership in advanced dental regeneration and position us to rebuild momentum in the OSSIX business. Wellspect demonstrated the opportunity from focused investments in commercial execution.

Investments in new products and U.S. commercial capabilities are supporting broader market reach and continued growth. Investments increased 15% year-over-year as the business pursues the $7 billion urinary management market. Wellspect builds us surety portfolio through a planned sequence of launches, culminating in the urinary management system alongside female and male external catheters for people managing incontinence at home. [indiscernible] portfolio recently qualified for traditional Medicare coverage expanding access to at home care for eligible patients.

These opportunities support continued investment in the portfolio and commercial capabilities. Alongside our commercial investment, we are reducing cost and complexity, Established earlier this year, the transformation office is advancing our approximately $120 million 2026 savings initiative funding the reset and strengthening cost discipline as our focus shifts from stabilization to value creation. As John discussed, we are resolving legacy matters to sharpen our focus on improving performance.

As disclosed in our Form 10-Q, we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for a proposed settlement of the 2024 Byte securities litigation. That proposed settlement amount will be covered by our liability insurance policies. Our global leadership team is fully in place with clear priorities and accountability for executing our Return-to-Growth action plan. Early progress in implants, endo and Wellspect give us confidence in the opportunities ahead. The task is now to extend that progress across the portfolio and deliver more consistent results.

There's more work to do but I'm encouraged by the team, the focus and the momentum we are building. Thank you to our employees and to our partners for their commitment. With that, let's open the call for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Allen Lutz of Bank of America.

Preguntas y respuestas

Allen Lutz

I appreciate all the color so far. Dan, I'll start with you. We've talked over the past couple of quarters about the opportunity to partner with DSOs. And you mentioned that you've now built out a team to capture that DSO opportunity. Can you just update us on the progress there? What are these potential partners looking for? And where do you see an opportunity for X-ray to lean in? And then a quick follow-up for John. Is that $39 million benefit in the quarter included in the updated EPS?

Daniel Scavilla

So I'll go first. We have been putting together a stronger DSO team investing in that and actually engaging with different levels of DSOs over the past several months, gaining traction. The thought there is we have, in the past touted broad scope of our portfolio and putting that out to customers. And we think that, in particular, with DSOs, that can really hit the mark. So depending on what they do, whether they are generalists or specialists, what they're going into equipment or into consumables, we really do know we can come back with a strong proposition. We're currently in several levels of conversations there, working our way through that. But I do think that it is 1 of the long-term potentials that we need to play in to be relevant and grow in the future.

John Fortson

Well, just to answer the second part of that question. Yes, it is included the $30 million because you have to look at it on an after-tax basis, so $39 million is pretax, but it is included in our guidance.

Operator

Our next question is from Elizabeth Anderson of Evercore.

Elizabeth Anderson

I have sort of a 2 parter. One, you obviously, Dan, we're talking about some green shoots. And I think you pointed to sort of some double-digit growth in MIS and value plans more generally. Is that -- could you talk us through sort of is that what you were referring to? And obviously, Wellspect like where are you seeing kind of the different products start to accelerate? And sort of how do you see that as we transition into 2027? And maybe as a corollary to that, can you give us an update on the timing of the inventory destocking going forward?

Daniel Scavilla

I will give that a shot, Elizabeth. So let's start with Wellspect. As you know, we've launched products through this year and they were planned. They tend to be on time so far and they're doing well. It allows us to penetrate into new areas, especially in the U.S. covered also with this Medicare coverage. It's a very promising thing. These are great products. They're getting readily accepted. And so what I'd see is very long. I want to say I see strength in Wellspect continuing through the rest of this year. And I would say, although while we're not giving 2027 guidance, I would expect to see that strength into next year, just given how early we're starting to really get into the U.S.

That said, Wellspect was up and strong in every market that they are in. So a very positive quarter for them throughout the world. I would tell you with, again, U.S. value implants up high single digits, MIS U.S. up low double digits, really related to sales force expansion, account conversion, clinical education as the main driver. There are innovations we are working on to further strengthen that going forward. But again, depending on the timing of some things that we'll talk about in the future, we'll see where that goes that way. Endo is the same way we're talking throughout the script. We've been putting clinical education into Endo and reflecting some of the strength of our products there, and we're seeing a good market reaction with that.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our next question is from Jeff Johnson of RW Baird.

Jeffrey Johnson

Thanks for those updates on the green shoots in the U.S., Dan. You have talked in the past about potentially getting to a plus sign on the U.S. number. It looks to me like the stacked comps on the Americas, which I know is not a perfect proxy for the U.S., but the stack really kind of stays about the same, and you've been trending down 3% to 4% on an adjusted basis in the Americas the last couple of quarters. So can you swing that number full 4 or 5 points and get to that plus sign in the fourth quarter? How should we think about that?

And then just John a little bit just on that -- on the benefit that you're keeping in the guidance. I've got that at about a $0.14 after-tax benefit. One, is that math about right? I guess you gave the after-tax number, so I can dial that in better if I need to. And two, if it's a multiyear benefit, I guess I'm just a little confused as to why keep it in the $1.20 to $1.30 guidance this year.

Daniel Scavilla

So Jeff, thanks. This is Dan. I'll go first. Like I said at the beginning of the year, I am going for that, looking for like even a 0.1 or 0.2 as we get into the U.S., there's momentum there that make that a possibility. What I'd say is it's a stretch. And if I miss it in the fourth, that means I'll get it in first but we're going for it. it's really a message of we're moving to stabilize once stabilized, we move to grow. So probably not going to back off my aspiration of getting a plus sign by the fourth quarter that way.

John, I'll hand it to you.

John Fortson

Yes. So I mean I already made it clear in the earlier question. It's sort of $39 million pretax, $30 million post tax. So you can kind of do the math for a little bit high, but it's okay. You'll figure it out. Look, why did we include it in the guidance? At the end of the day, we are in a process of improving how we analyze and forecast this company. So we are implementing new consolidation systems, and we're looking hard it's sort of the FP&A function of our company, right? And you're going to find and we have adjustments that come through there. So it just so happens to be that this is a positive adjustment, but it's -- we had to book it this quarter, and we think it's appropriate to do that. You can make your own judgment as to how you want to look at it with regards to our operating EPS.

Daniel Scavilla

Yes, something I'll tell you, Jeff, to consider building on as well, while we call it out because of it occurring in this quarter, I also want to make sure that it's clear. It's not a stand-alone event, meaning that it is a favorable we're calling out. We continue through John and the team to clean up several things, and there are several other offsets to that number. If you actually netted those out operationally, you may have a net of $0.01 or $0.02 is really where I would put that. So we're just calling it out for its uniqueness. There's other things that we have continued through the year to clean up and do. And again, I just want to make sure we understand it's not a stand-alone event, but we're just calling it out given its size there are offsetting onetime events pre down to negligible.

Operator

Our next question comes from Lily Lozada of JPMorgan.

Lilia-Celine Lozada

Great. You made some comments earlier this quarter about return to growth in 2027. So I'm hoping you can share the latest in light of today's update I know you're not giving guidance just yet. But generally, what are the themes, headwinds, tailwinds we should be keeping in mind for next year and is flat on the top and bottom line in still an okay way to think about it?

Daniel Scavilla

Yes. Lily. I like how you're trying to tease out that '27 from me but I'll go along with you on that. I did say that out at the conference, I don't really have better data just yet because we're only just beginning to look at it over the next 2 months. And in particular, we're really coming up with the next chapters of the return to growth plan that are fairly significant in what we plan to do. I'm happy with where we are so far this year and what's taking root. We're moving into the next phase. There will be a lot of moving parts. So what I would tell you is we really do need the next 1 or 2 months to finish those out align with our Board and then come forward with kind of how we'll reveal this to the market. So I'm going to shy away from giving you anything specific other than what I said on stage, I would stick with that for now and let us get through this work. And when we have better data, we can share it with you as we enter into next year.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our next question is from Michael Cherny of Leerink Partners.

Unknown Analyst

This is Leah on for Mike Cherny. I was wondering if you could help us bridge from 3Q to 4Q earnings based on the implied updated outlook, especially looking through the inventory benefit this quarter. and maybe what some of the puts and takes are to consider and how much visibility you have into 4Q.

John Fortson

Yes. I mean, look, -- you obviously can do the math to figure out what we have to achieve in Q4 to stay in the range that we talked about, right? I think when you work your way through it, you'll realize that it's fairly doable assuming that we get certain upticks in some of our markets, and we have a little bit of what I would call mix shift because some of our products are obviously more profitable than others, right? So as you see us improve and stabilize some of the equipment businesses and normally, the fourth quarter is a pretty good capital equipment quarter, you're going to see some improvement from there. and we feel comfortable with as that we've given you guys.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Okay. That will conclude the question-and-answer session. Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program, and you may now disconnect.