QuidelOrtho (QL1A) Q3 2026 Earnings Report

The call reflected a mixed but cautiously constructive outlook. The company reported significant revenue, respiratory, China, margin, and leverage pressures, narrowed its guidance, and expects restructuring charges in the fourth quarter. However, management emphasized resilient low to mid-single-digit growth in the core labs and immunohematology businesses, improved cash flow, disciplined capital spending, more than $80 million of incremental annual savings, and continued investment in VITROS 450 and NULEXA. The underlying business remains challenged by China and respiratory trends, but management presented concrete actions to improve profitability, cash generation, and deleveraging.

QuidelOrtho narrowed full year revenue guidance from $2.52 billion to $2.6 billion to a range of $2.52 billion to $2.54 billion, and now expects full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $540 million to $545 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.65 to $0.70; labs and immunohematology are expected to deliver low to mid-single-digit growth in 2026, excluding China, while guidance incorporates a cautious fourth quarter respiratory assumption based on trends through the end of the third quarter. China is expected to represent approximately 8% of total company revenue in 2026 and approximately 4% to 5% in 2027, with continued destocking throughout the remainder of 2026 and the majority of the pricing impact expected in 2027. The cost transformation and enterprise restructuring program is expected to deliver more than $80 million of annual savings in 2027, starting in the fourth quarter this year and ramping throughout 2027 with slightly more weight in the second half than the first half; the company expects to record approximately $30 million to $35 million of onetime restructuring charges in the fourth quarter, with the majority of the related cash outflow occurring in the fourth quarter of 2026.