Feb 24 (Reuters) - Henry Schein HSIC.O on Tuesday beat fourth-quarter profit estimates and forecast annual profit largely in line with Wall Street expectations on the back of stabilizing demand for its dental and medical equipment.
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.
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.
Peer and Invisalign maker Align Technology ALGN.O also beat fourth-quarter estimates, driven by strong demand for its dental aligners.
Henry Schein CEO Stanley Bergman said fourth-quarter sales marked the company's highest sales growth in 15 quarters, helped by strength in its equipment, specialty products and technology businesses.
Sales at the company's dental distribution equipment rose 12.2% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, with strong growth particularly in the U.S., Germany, Brazil, Canada and Australia.
Its adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share beat estimates of $1.30 in the three months ended December 27.
Quarterly sales rose 7.7% to $3.44 billion, topping the consensus of $3.35 billion.
Sales at the company's global distribution and value-added services segment grew 7.0% to $2.89 billion. Sales at global specialty products, which includes dental implants and biomaterials, rose 14.6% to $422 million.
The company expects 2026 adjusted earnings of $5.23 to $5.37 per share, the midpoint of which is above 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.
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
((Sahil.Pandey@thomsonreuters.com;))