The Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: The Cooper Companies, Inc.

Updated on October 19, 2026 · accounts published on September 9, 2026

A steady grower that converts profit into cash

Cooper Companies trades at a P/E of 20.3 over the last 12 months, 33 % below its sector median of 30.4 and 4 % under its ten-year median.

• Is Cooper Companies expensive or cheap? At a P/E of 20.3, Cooper Companies trades 33 % below its sector median and traded lower only 46 % of the last decade.
• How is the business doing? Revenue grew 5 % over the last 12 months, but operating margin slipped to 12.9 % from 16.7 % in fiscal 2025.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt of $13.86 per share equals 23 % of the share price and 2.5× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, right at the healthy limit.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $1.07 on December 3, 2026, after eight straight quarters of beating estimates.
• Does it invest enough in R&D and turn profit into cash? Free cash flow was 116 % of net income in fiscal 2025, but R&D at 4.2 % of revenue sits far below the 15 % healthy bar.

Is Cooper Companies expensive or cheap?

Over the last 12 months Cooper Companies trades at a P/E of 20.3. That is 4 % below its ten-year median of 21.2 and well under the 30.4 median of 217 healthcare companies. Its decade range runs from 6.6 to 74.4, so today it sits near the middle of its own history: it traded at a lower P/E 46 % of the time. Against the 27.8 average of its last ten fiscal years, the discount is wider. A free cash flow yield of 8.3 % and an EV/EBITDA of 15.1× tell the same story. The stock is down 15 % in 12 months and sits 29 % below its 52-week high of $84.32.

How is the business doing?

Sales keep rising, up 5.1 % over the last 12 months, yet EPS fell 4.6 % over the same period. Operating margin over the last 12 months is 12.9 %, below both the 16.7 % of fiscal 2025 and the 16.6 % average for fiscal 2014-2025, so more revenue is not reaching the bottom line. Net margin holds up better at 13.5 %. Returns are the weak spot. ROIC of 4.8 % sits 1.6 points below the sector median of 6.3 %, and it has not cleared 10 % in any of the last ten fiscal years. ROE is 6.9 %. The company grows, but it has yet to turn that growth into high returns on capital.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt to equity of 0.31 over the last 12 months is moderate, and an Altman Z-score of 3.5 places Cooper Companies in the safe zone. Net debt in fiscal 2025 was $13.86 per share ($14.42 of debt against $0.55 of cash), equal to 23 % of the current price. Against earnings power, net debt reached 2.5× EBITDA, exactly the line healthcare analysis treats as healthy, which leaves little room to borrow more. Liquidity is adequate with a current ratio of 1.22, while a Piotroski score of 5 out of 9 points to finances that are neither clearly improving nor deteriorating.

What to expect from the next earnings?

Cooper Companies reports next on December 3, 2026, and analysts expect EPS of $1.07 for the quarter, below the $1.15 posted on September 9, 2026, when it beat the $1.12 estimate by 2.7 %. The company has beaten EPS estimates in each of the last eight quarters, a record that makes a miss the real surprise. Expectations are stable: the 2026 EPS consensus has held at $4.54 over the last 30 days across 11 analysts, and revenue estimates barely moved. Of 28 analysts, 14 recommend buying, 13 holding and 1 selling, a split that shows divided conviction.

Does it invest enough in R&D and turn profit into cash?

In healthcare the R&D pipeline is the invisible asset: patents expire and the revenue tied to them disappears, so investors look at innovation and cash generation before headline profit. Cooper Companies passes on cash: free cash flow equaled 115.7 % of net income in fiscal 2025, above the 90 % healthy mark, and EPS grew 9.1 % a year over fiscal 2020-2025, ahead of the 8 % bar. It fails on R&D at 4.2 % of revenue against a 15 % threshold, on gross margin at 60.7 % versus the 70 % of branded pharma, and on ROIC at 4.8 % against 12 %. The profile is that of a cash generator with modest research spending.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.