Sometimes a company just has a good quarter. Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) had one of those in the fourth quarter, and the market is giving it a nice round of applause. The dental and medical products distributor reported adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share, up from $1.19 a year ago and beating the consensus estimate of $1.30.
Sales came in at $3.44 billion, which also topped the expected $3.35 billion. That represents a 7.7% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Digging into that growth, about 4.9% came from internal sales, 0.9% from acquisitions, and a 1.9% boost from foreign currency exchange—a helpful tailwind, but not the main story.
Where the Growth Came From
The story is in the segments. The company's core Global Distribution and Value-Added Services business saw sales rise 7.0% to $2.89 billion. But the real stars were the other two units.
The Global Specialty Products segment, which includes things like dental implants, saw sales jump 14.6% to $422 million. That's the kind of growth that gets management and investors excited, especially since these are often higher-margin, out-of-pocket procedures for patients.
Meanwhile, the Global Technology business, which sells software and practice management solutions, climbed 8.4% to $173 million. The company credited accelerated adoption of cloud-based software and new product launches. In a world where every business is trying to digitize, it's good to see that part of the portfolio growing nicely.
The Boss Is Happy
And management is, understandably, pleased. "Our fourth-quarter sales reflect continuing momentum resulting in the highest sales growth in 15 quarters," said Stanley Bergman, Chairman and CEO of Henry Schein. "We are pleased with the sales results across all our businesses, particularly our global equipment, specialty products, and technology businesses. This drove our strong fourth-quarter earnings, which exceeded the increased 2025 financial guidance we provided in our third-quarter earnings release."
He added that the growth, especially in the second half of 2025, shows the "effective execution" of the company's strategic plan and "positions us well for the future."
What Comes Next
So, what does "well positioned" look like in numbers? For fiscal 2026, Henry Schein expects adjusted earnings per share between $5.23 and $5.37. The consensus estimate was sitting at $5.30, so that's right in the ballpark, maybe even edging a bit higher.
On sales, the company is guiding for $13.58 billion to $13.84 billion, compared to a consensus of $13.53 billion. That range implies year-over-year growth of 3% to 5% from the $13.18 billion in sales it posted for fiscal 2025. The company also expects adjusted EBITDA to grow in the mid-single digits compared to 2025.
It's not a blow-the-doors-off forecast, but it's a steady, confident one. "Our 2026 financial guidance underscores sustained growth through continued strong execution of these strategies," Bergman said.
What the Analysts Are Saying
The analyst community seems to agree with the steady-as-she-goes assessment. William Blair noted that "strength in the specialty segment is an encouraging sign, both for Henry Schein's ability to drive higher margin mix and also for dental end-markets, since the specialty portfolio has a high exposure to out-of-pocket procedures like dental implants."
Analyst Brandon Vazquez added, "Initial 2026 guidance is in line with or slightly ahead of the Street, which should be another encouraging sign of stability and improving results." He called the quarter "a positive step in the right direction with improving end-markets and execution on key segments like specialty products."
In other words: good quarter, good guidance, nothing flashy but everything moving in the right direction. For a company in a stable industry, that's often exactly what you want to see.
The market agreed on Tuesday. Henry Schein shares were up 5.01% at $83.57, trading at a new 52-week high. When you beat estimates, show strong growth in your best segments, and guide for steady progress ahead, hitting a fresh high seems like a reasonable reward.
