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Call sheet · Q1'26

Agilent Technologies (A)

Q1'26 earnings call · held February 25, 2026 · compared with the Q4'25 call · management-credibility review
11/12
Disclosure score
2 medium, 4 low flags
Financial quality
Bottom line
The sleeper story everyone will miss: Agilent's services flywheel is hitting escape velocity, with field engineers generating 30% of leads at 2x conversion rates while enterprise services cements customer relationships that drive replacement cycles. The obvious headline is solid 4.4% growth despite weather, but the real story is multiple growth engines decelerating from Q4 pace - LC instruments down from double-digit to high single-digit, specialty CDMO crashed from 40%+ to low double-digit. The binding constraint is capacity - NASD is booked out through 2026, and new Train C/D capacity doesn't come online until 2027. Most revealing quote: 'We're booked out for '26, and now we're booking into '27 with larger commercial batches' - that's growth constrained by capacity, not demand. My view changes if Q2 shows the CDMO deceleration was just timing, not a demand inflection.

The 30-second version

  • The sleeper story: Services-led commercial flywheel hitting escape velocity
  • 4.4% core growth looks solid but masks $10M weather hit that would have put them above midpoint
  • GLP-1 business scaled to meaningful size but growth decelerated from Q4 pace

What changed this quarter

MetricQ4'25Q1'26Change
Revenue$1.86B (+9.4% reported, +7.2% core in Q4)$1.8B (+7% reported, +4.4% core)Decelerated 280 bps core growth
EPS$1.59 (+9% YoY in Q4)$1.36 (+4% YoY)Growth cut in half
Operating Margin27.2% (up 200+ bps sequentially in Q4)24.6% (down 50 bps YoY)260 bps sequential decline, normal seasonality
LDG Revenue11% growth in Q43% growthSharp 800 bps deceleration
AMG Revenue3% growth in Q44% growthModest 100 bps acceleration
ACG Revenue6% growth in Q46% growthStable performance
China RevenueDown 4% in Q4Up 6%1000 bps swing positive
LC InstrumentsLow double-digit growth H2 2025High single-digit growthModerated from double-digit pace
GC InstrumentsHigh single-digit growth in Q4Low single-digit growthCooled meaningfully
Specialty CDMO>40% growth in Q4Low double-digit growthMassive deceleration from 40%+ pace

Accountability tracked

8 new promises made5 narrative shifts flagged6 prior promises scored
Inside the full report
The complete write-up covers the full promise ledger with kept/missed calls, disclosure-quality scoring, the metrics-vanished check, verification items, and the questions to ask next quarter.
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Scores, kept-promise rates, and flags on this site reflect the author's opinion, applying a stated methodology to statements management made on public earnings calls. Informational and educational purposes only - not investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Sources believed reliable but not guaranteed; the author may hold positions in the securities discussed.

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