Medical device company ICU Medical (NASDAQ: ICUI) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q4 CY2025, but sales fell by 13% year on year to $540.7 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.91 per share was 12.8% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Vivek Jain, ICU Medical’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “Fourth quarter results were generally in line with our expectations."

Company Overview

Founded in 1984 and named for its initial focus on intensive care units, ICU Medical (NASDAQ: ICUI) develops and manufactures medical products for infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications used in hospitals and other healthcare settings.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Thankfully, ICU Medical’s 12.4% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was solid. Its growth beat the average healthcare company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.

Long-term growth is the most important, but within healthcare, a half-decade historical view may miss new innovations or demand cycles. ICU Medical’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its revenue was flat over the last two years.

This quarter, ICU Medical’s revenue fell by 13% year on year to $540.7 million but beat Wall Street’s estimates by 1.9%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to decline by 3.4% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and implies its products and services will face some demand challenges.

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Operating Margin

ICU Medical was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 2.9% was weak for a healthcare business.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, ICU Medical’s operating margin decreased by 5.6 percentage points over the last five years, but it rose by 2.7 percentage points on a two-year basis. Still, shareholders will want to see ICU Medical become more profitable in the future.

This quarter, ICU Medical generated an operating margin profit margin of 1%, down 6.4 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses increased relative to its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth – for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

ICU Medical’s EPS grew at an unimpressive 1.7% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, lower than its 12.4% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

Diving into the nuances of ICU Medical’s earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, ICU Medical’s operating margin declined by 5.6 percentage points over the last five years. Its share count also grew by 14.2%, meaning the company not only became less efficient with its operating expenses but also diluted its shareholders.

In Q4, ICU Medical reported adjusted EPS of $1.91, down from $2.11 in the same quarter last year. Despite falling year on year, this print easily cleared analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects ICU Medical’s full-year EPS of $7.76 to grow 2.4%.

Key Takeaways from ICU Medical’s Q4 Results

It was good to see ICU Medical beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. We were also happy its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock remained flat at $149.95 immediately after reporting.

Should you buy the stock or not? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).