Solventum 2026Q3: Dental business revenue $317 million, down 6.7% year-over-year

Source: Solventum Q3 2026 results

Third quarter net sales of $1.949 billion / Dental business revenue of $317 million / Adjusted earnings per share of $1.45, down 3.6% year-over-year

DentalGoodNews｜November 5, 2026, Solventum Corporation (NYSE: SOLV) reported third quarter 2026 results: quarterly net sales of $1.949 billion (approximately RMB 13.156 billion, converted at a 1:6.75 exchange rate), down 7.0% year-over-year; net loss of $12 million (approximately RMB 81 million, Net income (loss)), compared with net income of $1.266 billion (approximately RMB 8.546 billion) in the prior-year period. Because prior-year net income included a pre-tax gain of $1.518 billion (approximately RMB 10.247 billion) from the sale of the purification and filtration business, the two periods' net income are not directly comparable. For the first three quarters of 2026, cumulative net sales were $6.165 billion (approximately RMB 41.614 billion), down 2.6% year-over-year; net income was $93 million (approximately RMB 628 million), down 93.8% year-over-year, also affected by the prior-year asset sale gain.

On profitability, third quarter Adjusted Earnings Per Share was $1.45 (approximately RMB 9.79), down 3.6% year-over-year; Adjusted Operating Margin was 19.9%, down 70 basis points year-over-year. Management said the ERP pre-order reversal had a negative impact of approximately 250 basis points on Operating Margin, and excluding this, the quarterly Operating Margin was approximately 22.3%.

In the third quarter, organic sales declined 2.8% year-over-year. The company said some customers placed orders ahead of schedule in the second quarter in response to the ERP system transition, totaling approximately $125 million (approximately RMB 844 million), which reversed in the third quarter and had a negative impact of approximately 630 basis points on quarterly organic sales growth. After considering this timing impact and an approximately 90 basis point SKU reduction headwind, management estimates quarterly normalized organic sales growth was approximately 4%; including the growth contribution from the Acera acquisition, overall growth would increase by approximately another 50 basis points.

Source: Solventum Q3 2026 results

Dental Solutions third quarter sales were $317 million (approximately RMB 2.140 billion), down 6.7% year-over-year, with organic sales down 7.4%; segment Operating Profit was $64 million (approximately RMB 432 million), with an Operating Margin of 20.1%, below 25.7% in the prior-year period. The company disclosed that orders placed ahead of schedule in the second quarter reversed in the third quarter, impacting dental organic sales by approximately $35 million (approximately RMB 236 million). Management said this factor had a negative impact of more than 10 percentage points on dental organic growth, partially offset by new product launches and commercial execution.

Looking at cumulative performance for the first three quarters, Dental Solutions sales were $1.067 billion (approximately RMB 7.202 billion), up 6.0% year-over-year, with organic growth of 3.7%; segment Operating Profit was $281 million (approximately RMB 1.897 billion), with an Operating Margin of 26.4%, above 26.1% in the prior-year period. Previously, second quarter 2026 sales for this business were $396 million (approximately RMB 2.673 billion), up 17.0% year-over-year, with organic growth of 15.2%; third quarter 2025 sales were $340 million (approximately RMB 2.295 billion), up 8.4% year-over-year. Notably, approximately $35 million (approximately RMB 236 million) in pre-orders in the second quarter of 2026 also had a positive impact of approximately 10.4 percentage points on dental organic growth in that quarter. Based on the company's disclosed segment data, Dental Solutions accounted for 16.3% of third quarter consolidated net sales.

Source: Solventum Q3 2026 results

On cash flow, third quarter Operating Cash Flow was $177 million (approximately RMB 1.195 billion), and Free Cash Flow was $97 million (approximately RMB 655 million). The company said both metrics exceeded expectations, mainly driven by tariff refunds related to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Management added on the earnings call that excluding separation and portfolio adjustment-related expenses, third quarter Free Cash Flow was approximately $334 million (approximately RMB 2.255 billion). For the first three quarters, cumulative Operating Cash Flow was $215 million (approximately RMB 1.451 billion), and Free Cash Flow was negative $32 million (approximately negative RMB 216 million). As of September 30, 2026, the company held cash and cash equivalents of $451 million (approximately RMB 3.044 billion); Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt were $507 million (approximately RMB 3.422 billion), and long-term debt was $4.561 billion (approximately RMB 30.787 billion).

On full-year guidance, Solventum expects 2026 organic sales growth at the high end of the 2.5% to 3.0% range; excluding the impact of approximately 100 basis points from SKU exits, the corresponding growth expectation is at the high end of the 3.5% to 4.0% range. The company also raised full-year Adjusted Earnings Per Share guidance from $7.10 to $7.20 (approximately RMB 47.93 to 48.60) to $7.20 to $7.30 (approximately RMB 48.60 to 49.28), and maintained its Free Cash Flow expectation of $200 million to $300 million (approximately RMB 1.350 billion to 2.025 billion).

Regarding the separation from 3M, the company said overall progress has exceeded 90%, with approximately 1,200 applications migrated, the ERP system transition completed, more than 90% of transition service agreements (TSAs) exited, and the remaining agreements scheduled for completion by the end of 2027.

Regarding the future arrangement of the Health Information Systems business, management said it is advancing both spin-off and sale options in parallel. Whichever transaction path is ultimately chosen, proceeds will be prioritized for debt repayment to maintain an investment-grade credit rating; most of the remaining funds after debt repayment are planned to be returned to shareholders.