Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 1.6% to $874 million, while non-GAAP earnings per share rose 24.4% year over year to $0.56 as cost-saving actions and favorable product mix supported margin expansion.
Organic revenue increased 0.7% in the quarter. Acquisitions contributed 1.7 percentage points of growth, while foreign exchange created a 0.6 percentage point headwind, resulting in constant-currency revenue growth of 2.4%.
The company also reported a GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.81, compared with a loss of $0.41 a year earlier. The latest quarter included an approximately $175 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to Bruker Spatial Biology, which Chief Financial Officer Gerald Herman said reflected weak U.S. academic and government research market conditions.
Margins Improve as Cost Actions Gain Traction
Bruker’s third-quarter non-GAAP gross margin increased 120 basis points from the prior year to 51.3%, while non-GAAP operating margin rose 400 basis points to 16.3%. Herman said results were ahead of the company’s margin and earnings expectations, citing cost reductions and favorable mix.
“We are on track to achieve our $140 million annualized run rate cost-out target,” Herman said.
Management said the company saw favorable mix contributions in its nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, business and its optical microscopy business. Bruker expects additional benefits in the fourth quarter from cost actions already in place, a planned ultra-high-field system, and stronger semiconductor-related business.
Free cash flow improved by $151 million year over year during the quarter, driven by improved working capital and higher net income excluding the impairment charge. Bruker paid down an additional $58 million in debt, reducing its net leverage ratio to 2.4 times as of Sept. 30, below its previously communicated leverage target.
Bookings Trends Strengthen in Academic, China and Semiconductor Markets
President and CEO Frank Laukien said Bruker’s Scientific Instruments, or BSI, segment recorded its fifth consecutive quarter with a book-to-bill ratio above one. BSI organic bookings and backlog were both up in the mid-single-digit percentage range year to date.
Within U.S. academic and government markets, BSI organic bookings increased by a double-digit percentage from the prior year, marking the first year-over-year growth since the National Institutes of Health funding disruption in 2025. Laukien cautioned that the comparison with the prior-year period was weak, but said Bruker also expects year-over-year order growth in the U.S. academic and government market during the fourth quarter.
In China, BSI organic bookings increased more than 20% both in the third quarter and year to date, according to management. BSI revenue in China rose in the low-double-digit percentage range during the quarter, while revenue in the broader Europe, Middle East and Africa region increased more than 30%.
Semiconductor metrology bookings rose more than 30% year to date, fueled by demand tied to artificial intelligence applications, including logic chip foundries, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging. Laukien said these orders generally carry longer lead times and are expected to convert primarily into revenue in fiscal 2027, with some extending into 2028.
BSI organic revenue declined 0.4% in the third quarter, however, as instrument revenue fell in the mid-single digits. Herman attributed much of the decline to previously disclosed timing shifts in semiconductor metrology instrument shipments. BSI aftermarket revenue increased in the high-single-digit percentage range organically.
Segment Results and Acquisitions
For the first nine months of 2026, Bruker reported revenue of $2.54 billion, up 3.1% from a year earlier, while organic revenue was essentially flat.
- Biosystems Group: Year-to-date revenue reached $1.2 billion and increased by a low-single-digit percentage on a constant-currency basis. Growth in biopharma and translational research was partly offset by academic and government weakness. Mass spectrometry and IR/Raman spectroscopy grew, while NMR was softer.
- Microbiology and Infection Diagnostics Group: Revenue totaled $396 million year to date, rising by a low-single-digit percentage, primarily due to molecular diagnostics growth.
- Bruker Nano: Revenue was $770 million year to date, declining by a low-single-digit percentage on a constant-currency basis. Semiconductor metrology and biopharma growth were offset by weaker academic, government and industrial demand.
- BEST segment: Revenue increased 8.3% on a constant-currency basis, net of intercompany eliminations, led by research instruments and superconductors.
Bruker recently acquired a majority stake in MIMETAS, a provider of humanized organ-on-a-chip platforms. Laukien said the business complements Bruker’s spatial biology, structural biology and multi-omics offerings for drug discovery and development. He described the market for such platforms as positioned for significant double-digit growth with high gross margins.
The company also began a strategic collaboration with, and made a minority investment in, Atinary Technologies. The collaboration integrates Bruker’s Chemspeed laboratory automation and analytical instruments into Atinary’s agentic artificial intelligence-driven chemistry research workflows.
Full-Year Outlook Reaffirmed
Bruker updated its reported revenue outlook for currency but reaffirmed its expectations for organic revenue growth and non-GAAP earnings per share. The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue of $3.52 billion to $3.56 billion, representing reported growth of 2.5% to 3.5% from 2025.
Management continues to expect organic revenue growth of 1% to 2%, acquisition-related growth of about 1.5%, and currency to be approximately neutral to reported revenue. Bruker maintained its outlook for non-GAAP operating margin expansion of 250 to 300 basis points and non-GAAP EPS of $2.10 to $2.15, representing growth of 15% to 17%.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects lower-mid-single-digit organic revenue growth, along with meaningful sequential and year-over-year gains in operating margin and earnings per share. Laukien said the company expects organic revenue growth to improve further in 2027, while management remains committed to double-digit EPS growth next year.
About Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR)
Bruker Corporation develops and manufactures scientific instruments, analytical systems and related software used to study materials, molecules and biological processes. Its technologies support research, discovery and quality control in fields including life sciences, pharmaceutical development, chemical analysis, materials science, environmental testing and clinical research.
The company’s product portfolio includes nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance systems, mass spectrometers, infrared and Raman spectroscopy instruments, X-ray analysis equipment, microscopy and nanoanalysis systems, and preclinical imaging technologies.
