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Earning Preview: Lantheus’s quarterly revenue is expected to decrease by 2.03%, and institutional views are bullishAbstract
Lantheus will report fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on February 26, 2026, Pre-Market; our preview synthesizes the latest quarterly data and current-quarter forecasts across revenue, margins, earnings, and key business segments, alongside prevailing institutional sentiment heading into the print.Market Forecast
Consensus tracking implies Lantheus’s current-quarter revenue at 367.82 million, down 2.03% year-over-year, with EBIT estimated at 109.08 million and adjusted EPS at 1.17, reflecting expected year-over-year declines of 28.88% and 23.79%, respectively. No formal guidance has been communicated for gross profit margin or net margin in the current quarter; highlights point to a revenue mix still led by precision diagnostics. The main business continues to be anchored by commercial molecular imaging agents and contrast media, with an outlook centered on steady utilization and ordering cadence from customers. The most promising segment remains PYLARIFY at 240.62 million last quarter, the clear revenue leader; company-level revenue rose 1.39% year-over-year in the same period, underscoring stable demand entering the current quarter.Last Quarter Review
Lantheus delivered revenue of 384.01 million, a gross profit margin of 57.91%, GAAP net profit attributable to the parent company of 27.77 million, a net profit margin of 7.23%, and adjusted EPS of 1.27, with company-level revenue up 1.39% year-over-year and adjusted EPS down 25.29% year-over-year. A key financial highlight was the quarter-on-quarter decline in GAAP net profit, which fell 64.74% versus the prior quarter, reflecting a combination of operating expense timing and margin compression. Main business highlights included PYLARIFY revenue of 240.62 million and DEFINITY at 81.79 million, emphasizing the portfolio’s concentration in precision diagnostics and imaging agents while maintaining breadth across secondary revenue streams such as Technelite and Neuraceq.Current Quarter Outlook (with major analytical insights)
Core commercial drivers across precision diagnostics and contrast media
The current quarter’s top-line forecast aligns with a modest pullback to 367.82 million, pointing to tempered ordering and potential normalization after sustained strength through 2025. The company’s revenue base is dominated by precision diagnostics agents and contrast media, where performance tends to be driven by procedure volumes, utilization rates, customer inventory management, and the availability of radiopharmaceuticals across the network. Given the last quarter’s gross profit margin of 57.91%, investors will monitor whether mix maintains margin resilience as sales pivot back toward higher-contribution products and away from lower-margin components or one-time items. On earnings, the forecasted adjusted EPS of 1.17 incorporates softer EBIT (109.08 million, down 28.88% year-over-year), which suggests higher operating cost ratios or lower operating leverage in the near term. Management commentary regarding cost discipline, production yields, and pricing consistency will be important to assessing whether earnings headwinds are transitory or likely to persist into subsequent quarters.A critical consideration in the outlook is how sales dynamics in precision diagnostics translate into quarter-to-quarter variability. Procedure-level sensitivity can produce short-term oscillations, particularly when customers rebalance inventories or adjust scheduling to manage run-rate demand. The prior quarter’s 7.23% net margin illustrates the compression that can occur when revenue mix shifts or fixed costs weigh more heavily on reported earnings at lower volumes. This quarter’s revenue decline of 2.03% year-over-year, combined with the estimated EPS decline of 23.79%, implies that EBITDA-to-earnings conversion may be under pressure near term without necessarily signaling a structural deterioration in demand. For the purpose of previewing the print, the degree to which gross margins can hold near historical baselines will be a focal point for evaluating the health of the overall franchise.
Operationally, supply chain continuity and stable customer logistics are likely to be supportive of meeting existing orders, with any unplanned production or distribution variances translating swiftly to the P&L given the scale of the lead product lines. In a lower-growth quarter, maintaining consistency in throughput and minimizing waste or rework becomes a central lever for preserving profitability. The earnings setup is balanced: while top-line estimates anticipate moderation, the portfolio’s concentration in high-demand agents may enable margin protection if mix remains favorable and the expense base is calibrated to revenue run-rate.
PYLARIFY: the most promising growth engine and mix-sensitive earnings lever
PYLARIFY remains the largest revenue contributor, posting 240.62 million last quarter, and its performance is central to the stock’s earnings trajectory for the quarter. Given the prior quarter’s company-level year-over-year revenue growth of 1.39%, stable performance in PYLARIFY helps set a baseline for the quarter, even as total revenue is projected to decline 2.03% year-over-year. The extent to which PYLARIFY sustains share of the sales mix has direct implications for gross margin, because higher-contribution products can offset softness elsewhere. Since adjusted EPS is forecast to decline 23.79% year-over-year in the quarter, investors will be keen to see if PYLARIFY’s mix can mitigate operating deleverage and support earnings quality.Beyond revenue contribution, PYLARIFY’s ordering cadence and delivery reliability are pivotal for quarter-to-quarter outcomes. Demand tends to reflect installed base utilization and predictable customer patterns; however, short-term timing variance—such as scheduling clusters or inventory adjustments—can reallocate revenue between adjacent quarters. If PYLARIFY orders skew favorable late in the quarter or if delivery flow remains uninterrupted, gross margins may benefit from high-contribution throughput, improving earnings conversion relative to forecasts. Conversely, any disruptions could tighten margins and further pressure EBIT, given forecasts already embed a 28.88% year-over-year decline. In the preview context, the key watchpoints are the proportion of PYLARIFY within the sales mix and operational execution sufficient to preserve margins against a softer top line.
Pricing discipline is another aspect of the PYLARIFY outlook. Where price realization is steady and discounting remains contained, the product’s unit economics can cushion EBIT and EPS despite lower overall volumes. Additionally, the level of ancillary support costs tied to PYLARIFY—whether in distribution, compliance, or customer support—will influence operating leverage in a cautious revenue quarter. If those costs track below the rate of revenue decline, EBIT compression could ease relative to the headline forecast.
DEFINITY and supporting portfolio: stabilizers for margins and cash conversion
DEFINITY, at 81.79 million last quarter, serves as a stabilizer for the revenue base and can help balance mix when lead product revenue shifts. In a quarter where total revenue is forecast to decline, consistency from DEFINITY tends to bolster predictability in gross margin by providing a steady floor of contribution. The combined presence of Technelite at 21.13 million and Neuraceq at 20.44 million further diversifies the revenue stream, reducing single-product sensitivity. If these supporting lines perform in line with run-rate trends, they can counterbalance fluctuations in the lead product and thereby help maintain a gross margin profile closer to historical norms.From a cash conversion standpoint, dependable sales from these supporting products enable working capital to remain in a manageable range, which can mitigate pressure on reported net income during a softer quarter. In the prior quarter, net margin stood at 7.23%. Continued stability from DEFINITY and the broader portfolio is likely to be necessary to avoid further compression in net profitability, particularly with EBIT expected to decline year-over-year. The preview framework suggests that portfolio breadth offers a buffer: even with modest revenue decline, diversified contributions can provide partial offsets to operating deleverage.
Operational execution around this group is also material. Efficient production planning and synchronized distribution reduce variable costs and shrink potential margin leakage. Where process yields are strong and waste minimized, contribution per unit improves, supporting gross margin. Conversely, any inefficiency amplifies the impact of lower volumes on profit measures. The outlook’s nuance lies in how well these stabilizing businesses adhere to plan without unexpected cost oscillations.
Key stock-price drivers this quarter: earnings sensitivity, mix, and guidance cadence
Three drivers are likely to influence the stock’s reaction to the quarterly report: the earnings sensitivity to top-line changes, the product mix in reported revenue, and the tone of guidance and commentary for subsequent quarters. Earnings sensitivity is front and center given the estimates: a 2.03% year-over-year decline in revenue coupled with a 23.79% decline in adjusted EPS signals that small deviations in reported revenue can have outsized effects on EPS. If reported sales exceed the 367.82 million consensus by a modest margin, EPS could outperform due to operating leverage; if sales miss, EPS may compress more than proportionately.Product mix is the second determinant. A higher share for PYLARIFY in the sales mix can protect gross margin and stabilize EBIT, supporting the earnings profile. By contrast, if mix shifts toward lower-margin components or one-time adjustments, margin may compress further, intensifying EPS pressure. Investors will parse segment disclosures to evaluate whether mix enhanced or diluted margins relative to last quarter’s 57.91% gross margin baseline.
The third driver is the cadence of guidance and qualitative commentary around cost controls, margin trajectory, and sales visibility. This quarter’s EBIT estimate of 109.08 million implies caution around operating leverage. If management signals improved cost containment or a pathway to margin recovery in upcoming quarters, sentiment may improve even if the reported quarter aligns with softer headline numbers. Conversely, conservative commentary about expense ratios or lower visibility on near-term demand could reinforce the current forecast profile and weigh on shares. The timing of the report at 8:00 a.m. ET, Pre-Market on February 26, 2026, places emphasis on real-time interpretation of guidance during the call, which often drives intraday moves.
What to scrutinize within the print: margins, expenses, and cash dynamics
Within the release, three elements warrant close scrutiny. First, whether gross margin tracks close to last quarter’s 57.91% or diverges due to mix changes or cost impacts. Even small shifts in gross margin can materially influence EPS, especially given the estimated 23.79% year-over-year decline in EPS. Second, investors should assess the operating expense trajectory and its proportionality to revenue, as expense control can mitigate EBIT compression. The forecast for EBIT down 28.88% year-over-year signals sensitivity to both cost and revenue; any demonstration of expense flexibility could improve the earnings narrative. Third, cash flow indicators, including working capital changes tied to inventory and receivables, will clarify if the softer revenue quarter had outsized effects on cash conversion. Stability in working capital amidst moderate revenue pressure often de-risks subsequent quarters.Additionally, the quarterly evolution of net profit and net margin should be contextualized against reported mix and expense timing. The prior quarter’s GAAP net margin of 7.23%, alongside a quarter-on-quarter net profit decline of 64.74%, underscores how cost timing and operating leverage can alter reported profit measures even with a relatively stable top line. Investors will look for signs that these pressures are transient, with management commentary on rationalization, operational efficiency, and demand normalization serving as indicators for how profit measures may evolve through 2026.
Analyst Opinions
Across the January 1 to February 19, 2026 window, formal sell-side previews publicly available in the period have been limited, with observable coverage not indicating new bearish calls or downgrades ahead of the quarter. Institutional scheduling confirms the company’s earnings release timing at 8:00 a.m. ET on February 26, 2026, Pre-Market, and portfolio tracking in mid-February noted increased positioning in Lantheus-related fixed-income instruments by a major financial institution, signaling constructive institutional engagement in the current window. Based on available updates in this period, the ratio of published bullish versus bearish opinions is 100% bullish to 0% bearish; with no new negative calls observed, the majority view leans supportive into the report.The majority sentiment emphasizes three themes entering the quarter. First, top-line normalization is accepted in consensus estimates, with the focus shifting to margin preservation and earnings quality. The absence of new bearish views in the window aligns with the perspective that revenue moderation does not necessarily undermine longer-run earnings power if mix and cost control hold. Second, the mix-led outlook places a premium on product contributions from high-contribution agents, particularly the lead segment, given its ability to stabilize gross margin during volume fluctuations. Third, the expected year-over-year declines in EBIT and EPS are treated as near-term dynamics rather than structural changes, with investors watching for guidance on cost management and run-rate stabilization to recalibrate models post-print.
In our reading, the supportive stance remains grounded in the interplay between robust lead products and disciplined operations, coupled with the lack of adverse revisions in this period. This constructive tone does not dismiss the quarter’s challenges; it simply frames them within a manageable context where execution can close the gap between estimates and outcomes. As the company steps into its Pre-Market release on February 26, 2026, the majority view looks for clarity on expense ratios, mix, and cash conversion to underpin a recovery path for earnings metrics over subsequent quarters. The degree to which management provides directional guidance for margins, alongside confirmation of steady demand and operational efficiency, will shape whether majority bullish sentiment sustains following the report.