Second consecutive guidance raise with accelerating organic volume growth (14.4% vs 13.0% in Q2) and expanding margins signal sustained demand across physician, hospital, and consumer channels. The Apple Health integration and AD-Detect Alzheimer's test expansion are incremental growth catalysts. Watch for the upcoming Investor Day on March 25, 2027 for long-term margin targets and capital allocation strategy.
Price Chart
Executive Summary
Quest Diagnostics reported Q3 2026 revenue of $3.097B (+10.0% YoY) and adjusted diluted EPS of $3.00, beating consensus of $2.68 by 11.9%. The company raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $12.065B-$12.105B and adjusted EPS guidance to $11.25-$11.35, marking the second consecutive guidance raise. Strong organic requisition volume growth of 14.4% and operating margin expansion to 15.5% (reported) drove the beat.
Key Financial Metrics
Key Facts
- Q3 2026 revenue $3.097B, up 10.0% YoY from $2.816B
- Reported diluted EPS $2.78, up 28.7% YoY; adjusted diluted EPS $3.00, up 15.4% YoY
- Adjusted diluted EPS $3.00 beat consensus estimate of $2.68 by 11.9%
- Full-year 2026 revenue guidance raised to $12.065B-$12.105B from $11.95B-$12.05B
- Full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance raised to $11.25-$11.35 from $11.05-$11.25
- Cash provided by operations guidance raised to approximately $1.90B from $1.80B
- Requisition volume grew 14.5% (organic 14.4%); revenue per requisition declined 4.2%
- Operating income (reported) $479M, up 24.2% YoY; operating margin 15.5% vs 13.7%
- Company announced definitive agreement to acquire select outreach lab assets from a health system in the Northeastern U.S.
- Company will hold 2027 Investor Day on March 25, 2027
Financial Impact
Revenue beat of ~$77M vs consensus; EPS beat of $0.32 vs consensus; guidance raised by $115M at midpoint for revenue and $0.15 at midpoint for adjusted EPS
Risk Factors
- Revenue per requisition declined 4.2% YoY, indicating payer mix or pricing pressure
- Forward-looking statements reference an 'incident' described in a separate 8-K filed October 22, 2026, which could represent operational or legal risk
- Integration risk from the announced lab asset acquisition
- Elevated capital expenditures ($418M YTD vs $369M prior year) may pressure free cash flow conversion
Investment Themes
Documents Analyzed
This report is based on 6 SEC documents filed with EDGAR.
| Document | Accession Number |
|---|---|
| 8-K Filing (Primary) | 0001022079-26-000097 |
| Document: dgx-20261022.htm | 0001022079-26-000097 |
| Document: 0001022079-26-000097-index-headers.html | 0001022079-26-000097 |
| Document: 0001022079-26-000097-index.html | 0001022079-26-000097 |
| Document: 0001022079-26-000097.txt | 0001022079-26-000097 |
| 8-K Data (Synthetic) | 0001022079-26-000097 |
Filters
| Type | Now | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 27, 2026 today | Institutional Cluster | $241.96 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (+0.25%) |
Oct 26, 2026 1d ago | 144 | $242.95 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (−0.16%) |
Oct 22, 2026 5d ago | 8-K | $243.28 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (−0.30%) |
Oct 22, 2026 5d ago | 8-K | $243.28 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (−0.30%) |
Oct 6, 2026 21d ago | 8-K | $227.06 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (+6.83%) |
Sep 22, 2026 5w ago | Press Release | $233.00 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (+4.10%) |
Sep 9, 2026 6w ago | Press Release | $231.14 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (+4.94%) |
Sep 3, 2026 7w ago | Insider Cluster | $236.26 | awaiting T+60 | awaiting T+60 | $242.56 (+2.67%) |
Jul 23, 2026 13w ago | 8-K | $227.90 $239.15 | ▲ +4.94% | ▲ +0.38% | $242.56 (+6.43%) |
May 8, 2026 24w ago | 8-K | $189.81 $235.84 | ▲ +24.25% | ▲ +19.86% | $242.56 (+27.79%) |
US Market Status
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