Cooper Companies Beats EPS but Misses Revenue, Issues Below‑Consensus FY2026 Guidance

Cooper Companies (COO) posted a mixed quarterly earnings print on Wednesday, delivering $1.15 in adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings per share, marginally above the $1.12 consensus, while revenue of $1.07 billion slipped past the $1.10 billion estimate. Shares dropped 6.2% to $63.48 on the print. The results reflect a planned U.S. channel-inventory reduction at CooperVision, whose revenue was flat year over year at $717.0 million, offset by 3% organic growth at CooperSurgical to $349.2 million.

The earnings release came alongside Cooper's FY2026 outlook, which fell short of market expectations. Cooper forecast adjusted full-year EPS of $4.51-$4.55, below the $4.63 consensus, and Q4 EPS of $1.05-$1.09, trailing the $1.20 consensus estimate. Full-year revenue guidance of $4.2-$4.3 billion was broadly in line with the $4.3 billion consensus, so the guidance miss is concentrated in profitability rather than the top line, pointing to margin pressure from investment spending, foreign exchange, and lower tariff refunds.

In tandem with the guidance, Cooper completed its strategic review, unanimously decided to retain the CooperSurgical unit rather than pursue a sale, and expanded its share-repurchase authorization from $2 billion to $3 billion, leaving roughly $1.5 billion available. Institutional ownership stands at 24.39%.

Analyst reaction has been mixed rather than uniformly cautious: Citigroup maintained a neutral rating while raising its price target to $80, Needham cut its target to $86 but kept a buy rating, Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to buy, KeyCorp held steady at sector-weight, and Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell. Taken together, SentiSense's own analyst tracking shows a buy-leaning consensus (10 buy, 6 hold, 0 sell among 16 rated analysts) with an average price target near $81.50, a more constructive read than the flat "Hold" label some aggregators have applied. The stock has continued to slide since Wednesday's close, changing hands near $54.86 as of Thursday, extending the post-earnings pressure.

The combination of a revenue-line beat expectations narrative undercut by weak profitability guidance, an unresolved CooperVision inventory drawdown, and a larger buyback suggests management is leaning on capital return to support the stock while it works through near-term margin pressure. Investors could watch subsequent quarters for signs the CooperVision channel correction is resolving and whether the wider FY2026 guidance range holds, while analysts may revisit price targets if results diverge further from the current guide.