News

Becton Dickinson and Company BDX, popularly known as BD, is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2024 results on May 2, before market open.

In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) of $2.68 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.1%. Over the trailing four quarters, its earnings outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on three occasions and matched once, delivering an earnings surprise of 4.6%, on average.

Let’s check out the factors that have shaped BDX’s performance prior to this announcement.

Factors to Note

BD Life Sciences

On first-quarter fiscal 2024earnings callin February, BD’s management confirmed witnessing solid growth in the Life Sciences segment in China. The region also performed slightly above expectations in the fiscal first quarter, which management expects to continue throughout the year. This looks promising for the segment’s fiscal second-quarter results.

The segment’s fiscal first-quarter performance was slightly dampened by the Integrated Diagnostic Solutions business unit, which was impacted by the comparison to the prior-year respiratory season. However, the unit benefited from strength in BD’s Microbiology platforms and strong growth from Molecular In Vitro Diagnostic assays leveraging the BD COR System and BD Max System install base. The overall segment was also driven by the Biosciences business unit’s performance, which was led by strength in Research Instruments enabled by the BD FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter and BD Rhapsody HT Xpress launches and solid growth in Clinical Reagents driven by BD’s growing FACSLyric Clinical Cell Analyzer and FACSDuet Sample Preparation System install base.

The segment is likely to have witnessed continued adoption of the products in second-quarter fiscal 2024, thereby significantly driving up the segmental revenues.

In January, BD announced collaboration agreements with Hamilton and Techcyte. In February, BD announced a strategic partnership with Camtech Health. These raise our optimism about the stock.

The Zacks Model estimates the BD Life Sciences revenues to be $1.31 billion in the fiscal second quarter.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price and EPS Surprise

BD Interventional

During the fiscal first quarter, the segment continued to witness strong growth, driven by continued market adoption of the segment’s products. On the fiscal first-quarterearnings call management confirmed that the performance in BD’s oncology business was driven by growth in biopsy, including strong market acceptance of its recently launched BD Trek, powered bone biopsy system. These trends are likely to have continued in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, thereby significantly pushing up the segmental revenues.

In March, BD announced the enrollment of the first patient in the investigational device exemption study, AGILITY, which will assess the safety and effectiveness of the BD Vascular Covered Stent for the treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease. In February, the company announced its plans to present the next installment of its BD Innovates series, which would highlight BD solutions that help clinicians treat Peripheral Vascular Disease. These look promising for the stock.

The Zacks Model estimates the BD Interventional revenues to be $1.23 billion, suggesting an uptick of 3.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Other Factors to Note

The BD Medical segment’s Medication Delivery Solution business unit is expected to have continued to witness the execution of its Vascular Access Management strategy in the to-be-reported quarter, which drove strong performance in Catheter Solutions in the fiscal first quarter. The segment is also likely to be driven by continued product uptake.

However, the current unstable macroeconomic business environment, continued inflationary pressures, and labor dynamics are likely to have weighed on the company’s fiscal second-quarter revenues, raising our apprehension.

The Estimate Picture

For second-quarter fiscal 2023, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $5.03 billion, implying an improvement of 4.3% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

The consensus estimate for EPS is pegged at $2.96, indicating an increase of 3.5% from the prior-year period’s reported number.

What Our Model Suggests

Per our proven model, a stock with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), along with a positive Earnings ESP, has higher chances of beating estimates. This is not the case here, as you can see below.

Earnings ESP: BD has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are a few other medical stocks worth considering, as these also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation THC has an Earnings ESP of +5.65% and a Zacks Rank of 2. THC has an estimated long-term growth rate of 5%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Tenet Healthcare’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 31.6%.

Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS has an Earnings ESP of +1.55% and is a Zacks Rank #1 stock. UHS has an estimated long-term growth rate of 15%.

Universal Health’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 8.1%.

Blueprint Medicines Corporation BPMC has an Earnings ESP of +16.92% and a Zacks Rank of 2. BPMC has an estimated long-term growth rate of 34%.

Blueprint Medicines’ earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 13.3%.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.