Fortive Corp (FTV) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Fortive's P/E of 32.3 is above its own 5-year median of 31.8.

P/E below the industry

Fortive's P/E of 32.3 is below the Laboratory Apparatus and Analytical, Optical, Measuring, and Controlling Instruments median of 36.5.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Fortive's EV/EBITDA of 17.7 is below its 5-year median of 27.2.

P/B above the industry

Fortive's price-to-book of 3.39 is above the Laboratory Apparatus and Analytical, Optical, Measuring, and Controlling Instruments median of 3.17.

Trading below fair value

The share price of $67.73 is below our fair value estimate of $76.47.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 11.4% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -10.6% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew -6.3% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew 7.0% over the last twelve months; the Laboratory Apparatus and Analytical, Optical, Measuring, and Controlling Instruments median is 8.4%.

Guidance raised

Fortive raised its FY 2026 adjusted diluted earnings per share outlook on Oct 28, 2026.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 63.5% over the last twelve months, against 63.9% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 10.5% over the last twelve months and averaged 7.9% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 8.3%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Fortive's return on equity of 10.5% is above the Laboratory Apparatus and Analytical, Optical, Measuring, and Controlling Instruments median of 1.1%.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 14.8% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 17.4%.

Net margin above the industry

Fortive's net margin of 14.8% is above the Laboratory Apparatus and Analytical, Optical, Measuring, and Controlling Instruments median of -1.3%.

High debt

Debt is 59.1% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt rising against equity

Debt to equity rose from 47.2% five years ago to 59.1%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 34.2% of total debt.

Interest well covered

No meaningful interest expense to cover.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.23 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 3.55; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Fortive paid dividends worth 0.4% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 0.4% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Fortive yields 0.4%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 7 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 11.7% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 7.0% of free cash flow.