Henry Schein beats quarterly profit estimates on stable dental market

By Sahil Pandey

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Henry Schein HSIC.O on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter profit and sales that topped Wall Street estimates, as executives pointed to a stable U.S. market and improving demand for its dental and medical equipment, sending its shares up about 7%.

After a turbulent 2025 marked by uneven patient visits and weakening demand for higher-cost procedures, analysts expect the U.S. dental market to stabilize in 2026.

While patient volumes are inching up and clear aligner demand shows pockets of firmness, analysts caution that the category remains highly exposed to household budget pressures, suggesting that a full recovery may take time.

Patient traffic "remains stable and probably leaning positively," outgoing CEO Stanley Bergman said on a call with analysts.

Henry Schein's quarterly results and annual profit forecast indicate "potential signs of improved demand in areas that have been volatile," Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny said.

Bergman said the company posted its strongest sales growth in 15 quarters, driven by steady demand for its equipment, specialty products and technology businesses.

Henry Schein's global dental distribution equipment revenue rose 12.2% to $536 million in the fourth quarter from a year ago.

"The momentum is good...just feeling good that we're back in the market, attacking the markets, gaining market share in an environment where dentists are feeling pretty good," Bergman said.

The company expects 2026 adjusted earnings of $5.23 to $5.37 per share, compared with analysts' average estimate of $5.29, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Henry Schein expects total annual revenue to grow by 3% to 5% from sales of $13.2 billion in 2025. Analysts were expecting 2026 revenue of $13.54 billion.

Its adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share for the three months ended December 27 beat estimates of $1.30.

The company had announced last month that Frederick Lowery will be taking over as CEO, effective March 2, as Bergman steps down after 35 years at the helm.