MW Medical-products maker Becton Dickinson says cuts in global research funding have hurt sales

By Steve Gelsi

Company's stock falls 15% after it says its research-instrument business has been impacted

Becton Dickinson & Co.'s stock fell more than 15% on Thursday toward its worst one-day loss in 26 years after the medical-products maker said global cuts in research funding are impacting its research instrument sales.

The company also warned that tariffs will impact its 2025 earnings by 25 cents a share, with adjusted full-year profit now expected to be between $14.06 a share and $14.34 a share, below the FactSet consensus estimate of $14.43 a share.

"Given changes in government policy, including the cuts to U.S. research grants announced in February, it's become clear that pressure on research spending increased in the second quarter and will likely persist through fiscal year 2025," the company said.

Separately, the company said its diagnostics business also faced headwinds in its second quarter.

Becton Dickinson's stock $(BDX)$ was down 15.4% in afternoon trading. The stock was on pace for its biggest one-day drop since it fell 22.4% on June 14, 1999, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Including Thursday's moves, the stock has fallen 20.9% in 2025, while the S&P 500 SPX is down 4.3%.

The company expects 2025 revenue of about $21.79 billion to $21.89 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus estimate of $21.84 billion.

For its fiscal second quarter, Becton Dickinson said its profit fell about 43% to $308 million, or $1.07 a share, from $537 million, or $1.85 a share in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted profit of $3.35 a share beat the FactSet consensus estimate of $3.28 a share.

Revenue rose about 5% to $5.27 billion, but missed the analyst estimate of $5.35 billion.

Becton Dickinson's bioscience division reported a 0.9% drop in revenue to $574 million, which "reflects lower research instrument demand globally, particularly in the government and academic sectors impacted by research funding levels, that was partially offset by continued growth in research reagents," the company said.

-Steve Gelsi

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May 01, 2025 13:46 ET (17:46 GMT)

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