Why Bruker (BRKR) Shares Are Plunging Today

As the Q3 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the research tools & consumables industry, including Bruker and its peers.

The life sciences subsector specializing in research tools and consumables enables scientific discoveries across academia, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. These firms supply a wide range of essential laboratory products, ensuring a recurring revenue stream through repeat purchases and replenishment. Their business models benefit from strong customer loyalty, a diversified product portfolio, and exposure to both the research and clinical markets. However, challenges include high R&D investment to maintain technological leadership, pricing pressures from budget-conscious institutions, and vulnerability to fluctuations in research funding cycles. Looking ahead, this subsector stands to benefit from tailwinds such as growing demand for tools supporting emerging fields like synthetic biology and personalized medicine. There is also a rise in automation and AI-driven solutions in laboratories that could create new opportunities to sell tools and consumables. Nevertheless, headwinds exist. These companies tend to be at the mercy of supply chain disruptions and sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions that impact funding for research initiatives.

The 10 research tools & consumables stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.3% below.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 5.3% on average since the latest earnings results.

Bruker

With roots dating back to the pioneering days of nuclear magnetic resonance technology, Bruker develops and manufactures high-performance scientific instruments that enable researchers and industrial analysts to explore materials at microscopic, molecular, and cellular levels.

Bruker reported revenues of $860.5 million, flat year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

Bruker delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 29% since reporting and currently trades at $50.23.

Best Q3: Sotera Health Company

With a critical role in ensuring the safety of millions of patients worldwide, Sotera Health (NASDAQGS:SHC) provides sterilization services, lab testing, and advisory services to ensure medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and food products are safe for use.

Sotera Health Company reported revenues of $311.3 million, up 9.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 10.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $18.40.

Weakest Q3: Avantor

With roots dating back to 1904 and embedded in virtually every stage of scientific research and production, Avantor provides mission-critical products, materials, and services to customers in biopharma, healthcare, education, and advanced technology industries.

Avantor reported revenues of $1.62 billion, down 5.3% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.

Avantor delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 21.7% since the results and currently trades at $11.81.

Read our full analysis of Avantor’s results here.

Bio-Techne

With a catalog of hundreds of thousands of specialized biological products used in laboratories worldwide, Bio-Techne develops and manufactures specialized reagents, instruments, and services that help researchers study biological processes and enable diagnostic testing and cell therapy development.

Bio-Techne reported revenues of $286.6 million, down 1% year on year. This result came in 1.7% below analysts' expectations. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also produced a miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.

Bio-Techne had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is up 2.1% since reporting and currently trades at $62.36.

Read our full, actionable report on Bio-Techne here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Mettler-Toledo

With roots dating back to the precision balance innovations of Swiss engineer Erhard Mettler, Mettler-Toledo manufactures precision weighing instruments, analytical equipment, and product inspection systems used in laboratories, industrial settings, and food retail.

Mettler-Toledo reported revenues of $1.03 billion, up 7.9% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 3.2%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Mettler-Toledo scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $1,447.

Read our full, actionable report on Mettler-Toledo here, it’s free for active Edge members.

What Happened?

Shares of scientific instrument company Bruker .jumped 5.5% in the afternoon session after Guggenheim raised its price target on the company's stock to $53.00 from $45.00. 

The investment firm maintained its "Buy" rating on Bruker, but the nearly 18% increase in the price target signaled a more bullish outlook. The move, led by analyst Subbu Nambi, pointed to a stronger conviction in the company's potential. This updated evaluation came after a series of other favorable assessments from sector analysts, highlighting consistent confidence in Bruker's performance.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Bruker’s shares are very volatile and have had 29 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock gained 4.7% on the news that a company it majority-owns, RI Research Instruments, announced it had won orders valued at approximately €35 million. 

The contracts, worth more than $40 million, were for key components and subsystems for the Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) research project in Romania. RI Research Instruments, which is majority-owned by Bruker, noted that major deliveries for this project were expected in late 2026. This significant order highlighted a new stream of business, which investors viewed favorably.

Bruker is up 5.5% since the beginning of the year, but at $50.74 per share, it is still trading 19.4% below its 52-week high of $62.95 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bruker’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $934.15.

What Happened?

Shares of scientific instrument company Bruker .jumped 4.7% in the morning session after a company it majority-owns, RI Research Instruments, announced it had won orders valued at approximately €35 million. 

The contracts, worth more than $40 million, were for key components and subsystems for the Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) research project in Romania. RI Research Instruments, which is majority-owned by Bruker, noted that major deliveries for this project were expected in late 2026. This significant order highlighted a new stream of business, which investors viewed favorably.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Bruker’s shares are very volatile and have had 29 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 12 days ago when the stock gained 3.6% on the news that the company announced it received approximately $25 million in orders for its high-performance magnetic resonance systems from leading European research institutions. 

The orders came from three research institutions located in France and Germany. These systems are used for materials and life-science research. According to the company's announcement, the revenue from these sales was expected to be recognized over the fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The announcement of these significant contracts signaled strong demand for the scientific instruments manufacturer.

Bruker is down 16.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $48.85 per share, it is trading 22.4% below its 52-week high of $62.95 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bruker’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $904.59.

Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at Avantor and its peers.

The life sciences subsector specializing in research tools and consumables enables scientific discoveries across academia, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. These firms supply a wide range of essential laboratory products, ensuring a recurring revenue stream through repeat purchases and replenishment. Their business models benefit from strong customer loyalty, a diversified product portfolio, and exposure to both the research and clinical markets. However, challenges include high R&D investment to maintain technological leadership, pricing pressures from budget-conscious institutions, and vulnerability to fluctuations in research funding cycles. Looking ahead, this subsector stands to benefit from tailwinds such as growing demand for tools supporting emerging fields like synthetic biology and personalized medicine. There is also a rise in automation and AI-driven solutions in laboratories that could create new opportunities to sell tools and consumables. Nevertheless, headwinds exist. These companies tend to be at the mercy of supply chain disruptions and sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions that impact funding for research initiatives.

The 10 research tools & consumables stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.3% below.

While some research tools & consumables stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 1.5% since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q3: Avantor

With roots dating back to 1904 and embedded in virtually every stage of scientific research and production, Avantor provides mission-critical products, materials, and services to customers in biopharma, healthcare, education, and advanced technology industries.

Avantor reported revenues of $1.62 billion, down 5.3% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. Overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.

"Avantor's diverse portfolio, strong production capabilities, and long-standing customer relationships provide a strong foundation for sustained value creation," said Emmanuel Ligner, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Avantor delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 26.6% since reporting and currently trades at $11.08.

Read our full report on Avantor here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Sotera Health Company

With a critical role in ensuring the safety of millions of patients worldwide, Sotera Health (NASDAQGS:SHC) provides sterilization services, lab testing, and advisory services to ensure medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and food products are safe for use.

Sotera Health Company reported revenues of $311.3 million, up 9.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.

The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 3% since reporting. It currently trades at $17.10.

Bio-Techne

With a catalog of hundreds of thousands of specialized biological products used in laboratories worldwide, Bio-Techne develops and manufactures specialized reagents, instruments, and services that help researchers study biological processes and enable diagnostic testing and cell therapy development.

Bio-Techne reported revenues of $286.6 million, down 1% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Bio-Techne delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 6.5% since the results and currently trades at $57.11.

Read our full analysis of Bio-Techne’s results here.

Bruker

With roots dating back to the pioneering days of nuclear magnetic resonance technology, Bruker develops and manufactures high-performance scientific instruments that enable researchers and industrial analysts to explore materials at microscopic, molecular, and cellular levels.

Bruker reported revenues of $860.5 million, flat year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

Bruker had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 14.9% since reporting and currently trades at $44.73.

Read our full, actionable report on Bruker here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Agilent

Originally spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 1999 as its measurement and analytical division, Agilent Technologies provides analytical instruments, software, services, and consumables for laboratory workflows in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets.

Agilent reported revenues of $1.86 billion, up 9.4% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 1.5%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Agilent scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 11.4% since reporting and currently trades at $136.35.

Read our full, actionable report on Agilent here, it’s free for active Edge members.