Fortive Raises Full-Year Profit Outlook as Third-Quarter Revenue Grows 7.8%

Fortive raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday after third-quarter revenue growth accelerated to 7.8% and adjusted earnings per share rose 13%, marking what the company called its fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit adjusted EPS growth.

The Everett, Washington, industrial technology company now expects 2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $3.10 to $3.14, which it said is up about 15% year over year at the midpoint, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Wednesday.

Faster growth, fatter margins

Revenue for the quarter came to $1.11 billion, up from $1.027 billion a year earlier. Core revenue grew 7.2%.

GAAP net earnings from continuing operations rose 47.4% to $173 million, lifting the net earnings margin to 15.6% from 11.4%. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.57, up from $0.35, while adjusted diluted EPS was $0.77, up from $0.68.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 9.5% to $339 million, for a margin of 30.6%, up 50 basis points.

"Q3 was another quarter of strong and accelerating performance for Fortive," President and CEO Olumide Soroye said in the release. He added that the company is "executing our Fortive Accelerated strategy."

Operating Solutions leads, Healthcare lags

The Intelligent Operating Solutions segment did most of the heavy lifting. Its revenue rose 9.8% to $767 million, or 9.1% on a core basis, and GAAP operating profit jumped 23.6% to $223 million. Segment adjusted EBITDA margin widened 120 basis points to 35.8%.

Advanced Healthcare Solutions was softer. Revenue rose 3.7% to $340 million, or 3.1% on a core basis, but GAAP operating profit fell 10.1% to $38 million and adjusted EBITDA margin narrowed 230 basis points to 25.8%.

Cash and buybacks

GAAP operating cash flow was $313 million in the quarter, up 6.3%, and free cash flow was $284 million, up 6.7%. Over the trailing 12 months, free cash flow totaled $1.062 billion, up 15.2%.

Fortive spent about $300 million on share repurchases in the third quarter, retiring roughly 5 million shares, or about 2% of diluted shares outstanding. That brings total buybacks since the launch of what the company calls "new Fortive" to about $2.3 billion, representing about 43 million shares, or roughly 13% of shares outstanding.

The shrinking share count shows up in the per-share math: diluted weighted average shares fell to 303.9 million in the quarter from 333.4 million a year earlier, according to the release.

The bigger picture

Fortive completed the spin-off of its former Precision Technologies segment as Ralliant Corporation on June 28, 2025, and all figures cited are for continuing operations.

Soroye said the company remains "fully confident" in its ability to deliver the medium-term financial framework it laid out at its last Investor Day. Fortive also filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q on Wednesday.

Sources

1. Fortive Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0001659166-26-000039)
2. Fortive Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0001659166-26-000040)

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