Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO) reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 results that management described as a “strong start” to the year, highlighted by product launches, margin expansion, and robust free cash flow. Executives attributed the quarter’s profitability to synergies from last year’s reorganization and ongoing cost discipline, while reiterating a focus on market share gains at CooperVision and improving trends in CooperSurgical’s fertility business.
Quarterly results and profitability
For the quarter, consolidated revenue was $1.024 billion, up 6.2% year over year, or 2.9% organically. CooperVision revenue was $695 million (up 7.6%, or 3.3% organically), while CooperSurgical revenue was $329 million (up 3.3%, or 2.2% organically).
Operating expenses increased only modestly and declined as a percentage of sales to 41.2% from 43.6% a year earlier, reflecting the benefits of the reorganization executed in the prior quarter. Operating income increased 13.9% to a 26.9% margin. Interest expense was $22.4 million, and the effective tax rate was 15.1%. Non-GAAP EPS rose 20% to $1.10, with roughly 197 million average shares outstanding.
CooperVision: MyDay rollout, MiSight growth, and Asia-Pac headwinds
CEO Al White said CooperVision entered 2026 intending to extend its streak of market share gains after calendar 2025 marked an 18th consecutive year of share gains. During the quarter, he highlighted progress in the global rollout of the premium MyDay daily silicone hydrogel portfolio, growth in branded sales, and execution on private label contracts.
Within CooperVision on an organic basis, torics and multifocals grew 6%, spheres grew 1%, and daily silicone hydrogel lenses grew 7%, led by double-digit growth in MyDay. MiSight revenue grew 23% to $28 million.
Regionally, the Americas grew 6% and EMEA grew 4%, which management said strengthened its number one market position in that region. Asia Pac declined 4%, which management attributed to softness in Japan tied primarily to lower-margin older hydrogel products. White told analysts the Japan legacy hydrogel weakness was the key driver behind CooperVision organic growth coming in below expectations versus what the company had anticipated when guidance was set in December.
Management said it is taking steps to improve Asia-Pac performance, including leadership upgrades, increased marketing investments, and ramping up a new regional distribution center to enhance customer service and fulfillment speed. The company cited several recent product launches in the region, including MyDay toric in Taiwan, MiSight in Japan, and MyDay MiSight in Australia and New Zealand, as well as increased availability of MyDay multifocal and MyDay toric expanded range. White said Asia Pac is expected to remain down in fiscal Q2 due to declining legacy hydrogel sales, but the company expects the region to return to growth in fiscal Q3 as product launches and contract execution build.
On myopia control, White said early reception to MyDay MiSight in EMEA has been extremely positive, and he also pointed to an enthusiastic response to MiSight in Japan following a February launch. White emphasized MiSight’s regulatory positioning, stating it remains the only FDA-approved contact lens for myopia control and the first and only lens approved for myopia control in both Japan and China.
CooperSurgical: Fertility stabilization and product mix dynamics
CooperSurgical delivered organic growth of 2.2%. Fertility revenue was $127 million, up 3% organically, driven by strong global genomics performance and solid results in consumables including media, ZyMōt, and Witness. These gains were partially offset by softness in the Middle East and lower equipment installations.
White and Andrews said they are seeing “early but clear” signs of recovery in fertility, describing steadily improving results through the quarter supported by contract wins, product launches, and strengthening underlying market trends. White noted the Middle East represents about 2% of consolidated sales and said the primary risk is the ability to get products into the region, where Cooper holds a leading fertility position.
In office and surgical, sales were $202 million, up 2% organically. Medical devices grew 6%, led by surgical OBGYN products, partially offset by softness in some legacy devices and Paragard declining 7% against a difficult comparison tied to last year’s launch of a new single-hand inserter. Management said it still expects Paragard to be flat to slightly up for the fiscal year, and White added that the company had assumed a negative impact from a potential competitive launch in its initial guidance, though he noted the referenced licensing agreement had not closed.
Cash flow, capital allocation, and updated guidance
Free cash flow was $159 million in the quarter, with capital expenditures of $102 million. The company repurchased 1.1 million shares for $92 million, made the final $50 million payment related to its 2023 Cook acquisition, and reduced net debt to $2.4 billion.
Andrews also discussed debt refinancing actions, saying the company amended and extended $950 million of a $1.5 billion term loan maturing in December 2026, extending it to February 2031. The remaining $550 million is expected to be repaid at maturity using free cash flow and available revolver capacity.
For full-year fiscal 2026, revenue guidance was essentially unchanged at roughly $4.3 billion to $4.35 billion, implying organic growth of about 4.5% to 5.5%. Segment guidance includes CooperVision revenue of $2.9 billion to $2.93 billion and CooperSurgical revenue of $1.4 billion to $1.41 billion.
The company raised non-GAAP EPS guidance to $4.58 to $4.66, citing the first-quarter beat and stronger expected operational performance. Management maintained its tariff estimate of approximately $24 million for the year, with interest expense expected around $85 million and an effective tax rate between 15% and 16%.
Cooper also raised fiscal 2026 free cash flow guidance to $600 million to $625 million. Andrews reiterated expectations to generate more than $2.2 billion of free cash flow from fiscal 2026 through 2028, driven by higher operating profits, improved working capital performance, and lower capital expenditures.
White said the company remains in a strategic review process announced in December, but he did not provide an update, stating it would share outcomes when there is something definitive to communicate or when the process is complete.
About Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO)
Cooper Companies, Inc (NASDAQ: COO) is a global medical device company headquartered in San Ramon, California. Founded in 1958, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic development to become a major provider of vision care and women’s health products. Cooper Companies operates through two primary business segments—CooperVision and CooperSurgical—each serving specialized markets within the healthcare industry.
The CooperVision segment develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of soft contact lenses, as well as related accessories.
