The Cooper Companies, Inc. (CooperCompanies, NASDAQ: COO) just dropped a packed news day: fiscal Q4 2025 earnings, upbeat 2026 guidance, a formal strategic review, and a change in board leadership. Together, these announcements on 4 December 2025 jolted COO stock higher in extended trading and reshaped the investment narrative around this mid-cap medtech name. [1]
This article pulls together the latest news, forecasts, and analyses published on and after 4 December 2025, to give you a Google‑News‑ready deep dive into Cooper Companies stock.
COO stock today: how the market reacted
CooperCompanies shares closed regular trading around $77.03 on 4 December, up roughly 1.4% on the day. MarketBeat data shows the stock trading near that level at the closing bell, then climbing to about $82.18 in extended hours, a gain of almost 7%. [2]
A separate Reuters report noted that the company’s announcement of a formal strategic review sent shares up around 10% in after-hours trading, underscoring how important the strategic news was to investors. [3]
Even after the spike, COO remains almost 30% below its 52‑week high around $106.63, according to StockTitan’s summary of the earnings reaction, and trades only modestly above its 200‑day moving average near $75. [4]
In other words: the stock just got a big catalyst, but it’s still in recovery mode from a tough year.
Q4 2025 earnings: growth, but noisy margins
On 4 December, CooperCompanies released results for the quarter and fiscal year ended 31 October 2025. [5]
Key Q4 2025 numbers
From the company’s GlobeNewswire earnings release and related summaries: [6]
- Revenue:
- $1,065.2 million, up 5% year‑over‑year
- +3% in constant currency and +3% organically
- GAAP EPS:
- $0.43, down 27% vs. $0.58 a year ago
- Non‑GAAP (adjusted) EPS:
- $1.15, up 11% vs. $1.04 last year
- Full‑year 2025 revenue:
- $4.09 billion, up 5% (4% organic)
- Full‑year non‑GAAP EPS:
- $4.13, up 12%, while GAAP EPS slipped 4% to $1.87
The big story here is the gap between GAAP and adjusted profitability:
- GAAP gross margin fell to about 61% from 67% a year earlier, mainly due to reorganization‑related costs.
- On a non‑GAAP basis, gross margin was about 66%, only 70 bps lower than last year, and non‑GAAP operating margin actually improved to roughly 27%, up 110 bps. [7]
So, underlying operations looked solid, but restructuring charges dragged down reported earnings.
Did Cooper beat or miss earnings?
It depends on which metric you focus on:
- Zacks/Nasdaq’s recap, using adjusted EPS, said Cooper delivered $1.15 vs. a $1.11 consensus, and revenue of about $1.07 billion vs. a $1.06 billion estimate, calling it a positive surprise on both lines. [8]
- QuiverQuant’s analysis, focusing on GAAP EPS, framed the quarter as a revenue in line but EPS miss: GAAP EPS of $0.43 vs. a $1.13 GAAP estimate, with operating profit down nearly 30% year‑over‑year due to higher cost of sales and restructuring charges. [9]
Both views are technically correct: on an adjusted basis, COO beat expectations, but GAAP earnings were hit hard by one‑time charges. That nuance helps explain why some analysts are enthusiastic while others remain cautious.
Segment performance: CooperVision and CooperSurgical
CooperCompanies runs two main businesses: CooperVision (CVI) in contact lenses and CooperSurgical (CSI) in women’s health and fertility. [10]
CooperVision (CVI)
- Q4 revenue: $709.6 million, up 5% (3% organic).
- Toric and multifocal lenses grew about 7% reported / 5% organic.
- Sphere and other lenses grew 3% reported / 2% organic. [11]
- On the call, management highlighted MiSight, its myopia‑control lens, posting roughly 37% year‑over‑year growth in Q4, and strong momentum from MyDay contract wins and upcoming product launches. [12]
CooperSurgical (CSI)
- Q4 revenue: $355.6 million, up 4% both reported and organically.
- Office & surgical products grew around 6%, while fertility revenue increased about 1%, with management expecting a much stronger fertility year in 2026. [13]
Takeaway: CVI remains the growth engine, driven by specialty contact lenses and myopia control, while CSI is stabilizing and positioned for a potential fertility rebound.
Cash flow, balance sheet and buybacks
Free cash flow is a crucial part of the COO story:
- Q4 free cash flow: about $149.8 million
- Full‑year 2025 free cash flow: roughly $433.7 million [14]
The company also leaned heavily on buybacks:
- In Q4, Cooper repurchased about 2.9 million shares for $197.3 million, at an average price near $67.48 per share. [15]
- In September 2025, the board expanded the share repurchase authorization to $2 billion, and the new strategic‑review press release says capital deployment will be focused on buybacks during the review period. [16]
On the balance sheet, Cooper reported:
- Cash and equivalents: about $110.6 million
- Total debt: roughly $2.5 billion long‑term plus a small short‑term portion
- Total liabilities: around $4.16 billion, with shareholder equity over $8.2 billion [17]
That leaves the company with moderate leverage, supported by recurring cash generation.
Strategic review and leadership change: why it matters
The biggest non‑earnings headline on 4 December was governance and strategy.
New board chair
CooperCompanies announced that long‑time chair Robert S. Weiss will step down from the chair role effective 2 January 2026, remaining on the board for one final term. Colleen E. Jay, a director since 2016 and former Global Division President at Procter & Gamble, will become the new chair. [18]
Management praised Weiss’s nearly five‑decade career at Cooper and highlighted Jay’s background in global consumer brands, innovation and portfolio transformation as a strong fit for the next stage of the company’s evolution. [19]
Formal strategic review
In the same release, Cooper announced a “formal and comprehensive strategic review” of:
- Its businesses and corporate structure
- Overall strategy and operations
- Capital allocation priorities
The possibilities on the table include partnerships, joint ventures, divestitures, mergers, business combinations and other transactions, with the explicit goal of “unlocking long‑term shareholder value.” During this process, Cooper says it expects to prioritize share repurchases under the expanded $2 billion program. [20]
Reuters framed this as a direct response to rising activist pressure and noted that the review coincided with guidance that beats Wall Street expectations for 2026 adjusted earnings and revenue, contributing to the stock’s double‑digit after‑hours move. [21]
Activist investors: the pressure behind the review
The 4 December announcements didn’t come out of nowhere. For months, Cooper has been under scrutiny from two different activist investors with competing visions for the company.
JANA Partners
According to FierceBiotech and earlier Reuters reporting, JANA Partners disclosed a stake in Cooper and pushed for “strategic alternatives” aimed at boosting returns. One idea floated in media coverage: selling the contact lens business (CooperVision) to Bausch + Lomb, arguing the two segments (vision care and women’s health) are not closely related. [22]
Browning West
Another activist, Browning West, sent a detailed public letter in November, saying it had invested more than $500 million in Cooper, making it one of the company’s largest shareholders. [23]
Browning West’s thesis:
- Cooper has underperformed the S&P 500 and healthcare indices in recent years.
- Weak oversight and capital allocation decisions have hurt execution.
- The future of Cooper should be as a “pure‑play vision care” company, with CooperSurgical finding a new strategic home. [24]
The firm also proposed four board candidates with deep medtech, eye‑care and corporate leadership experience, signaling a willingness to pursue a proxy fight if necessary. [25]
Activists react to the review
Reuters quoted JANA managing partner Scott Ostfeld calling the 4 December strategic review “an important first step toward unlocking Cooper’s value,” implying activists are likely to stay engaged as the process unfolds. [26]
For investors, this raises the probability of:
- A business separation (e.g., spinning off or selling CooperSurgical or CooperVision).
- More aggressive capital returns via buybacks.
- Potential board changes and continued governance reforms.
But it also adds uncertainty and execution risk if the review drags on without a clear outcome.
2026 outlook: guidance, restructuring benefits and free cash flow
Alongside Q4 results, Cooper provided detailed guidance for fiscal 2026 and Q1 2026.
Revenue and EPS guidance
From the company’s guidance slides and StockTitan summary: [27]
- Q1 2026 guidance
- Revenue: $1,019–$1,030 million, implying 3–4% organic growth
- CooperVision: $693–$700 million (3.5–4.5% organic)
- CooperSurgical: $327–$330 million (2–3% organic)
- Non‑GAAP EPS:$1.02–$1.04
- Revenue: $1,019–$1,030 million, implying 3–4% organic growth
- Full‑year fiscal 2026 guidance
- Revenue: $4,299–$4,338 million, targeting 4.5–5.5% organic growth
- CooperVision: $2,900–$2,925 million (4.5–5.5% organic)
- CooperSurgical: remainder, with low‑single‑digit organic growth
Reuters notes that Cooper expects adjusted EPS of $4.45–$4.60 for 2026, notably above the LSEG consensus of around $4.39 at the time of the announcement, and revenue guidance that brackets the roughly $4.32 billion analyst expectation. [28]
Restructuring savings and free cash flow
The Q4 reorganization wasn’t just a one‑time hit; it’s supposed to pay off:
- Cooper booked about $89 million of reorganization charges in Q4 and expects roughly $50 million in annual pre‑tax savings from 2026 onward. [29]
- The company guides to fiscal 2026 free cash flow of $575–$625 million, and CEO Al White told investors they now expect more than $2.2 billion of free cash flow from 2026 through 2028. [30]
With a market capitalization around $15–$16 billion, that implies:
- A 2025 FCF yield of roughly 3%, based on $433.7 million in free cash flow. [31]
- A potential 2026 FCF yield approaching ~4% if guidance is achieved, before any impact from strategic actions. [32]
That cash gives Cooper flexibility to:
- Fund share buybacks under the $2 billion authorization.
- Pay down debt to reduce interest expense.
- Pursue selective M&A or strategic transactions emerging from the review. [33]
COO stock forecasts after 4 December 2025
Multiple analyst and data platforms updated or summarized their views following the earnings and strategic review.
Wall Street price targets and ratings
MarketBeat
- Consensus rating: Moderate Buy
- Coverage: 15 analysts
- Rating mix: 1 Strong Buy, 9 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell
- Average 12‑month price target:$84.77
- Implied upside: about 10% from the recent price of $77.03
- Target range:$64–$110 [34]
TickerNerd (24‑analyst panel)
- Overall rating: Buy (score 7.6/10)
- Analyst mix: 11 Buy, 7 Hold, 1 Sell
- Median price target:$85.00
- Range:$64–$96
- Implied upside: roughly 11.9% from about $75.98 at the time of its latest update (10:04 UTC on 4 December). [35]
QuiverQuant analyst snapshot
QuiverQuant aggregates recent broker targets and finds:
- Median price target: about $83
- Coverage of 11 analysts, with multiple buys (including Needham, Stifel, Mizuho and others) and at least one Sell rating from Goldman Sachs at $64. [36]
TipRanks
TipRanks’ news summary on 4 December notes that: [37]
- The most recent analyst rating is a Buy with a $88 price target.
- TipRanks’ AI “Spark” model rates COO as Outperform, but its technical signal is “Sell”, reflecting chart‑based weakness despite improving fundamentals.
More cautious short‑term signals
Not everyone is bullish:
- Zacks, in a piece syndicated via Nasdaq, still assigns Cooper a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), citing a negative trend in earnings‑estimate revisions ahead of the report. The article warns that shares are expected to “underperform the market in the near term” even while acknowledging the Q4 beat on adjusted metrics. [38]
- Public.com’s forecast page describes COO as a consensus Hold, with a 2025 price prediction around $79.27, only modestly above current levels. [39]
This split—fundamentals and long‑term targets skew positive, while some near‑term ranking systems stay cautious—is a big part of the post‑earnings story.
Earnings and revenue projections
StockAnalysis compiles analyst models showing: [40]
- Revenue rising from about $3.90 billion in FY 2024 to $4.13 billion in FY 2025, and then to $4.37 billion in FY 2026.
- EPS (primarily on an adjusted basis) increasing from roughly $1.96 to 4.14 in FY 2025, and to 4.44 in FY 2026—a strong jump in “this year” driven largely by non‑GAAP adjustments and then high‑single‑digit growth thereafter.
Intellectia’s estimate tracker shows that revenue expectations for FY 2025 were essentially unchanged over the past three months, while COO’s share price climbed more than 13% in that window—suggesting the recent move has been more about multiple re‑rating and sentiment than big forecast upgrades (at least before the new 2026 guidance). [41]
Insider and institutional activity
QuiverQuant’s earnings report also highlights notable insider buying in the last six months: [42]
- CEO Albert G. White III purchased about 10,000 shares.
- COO Daniel McBride, CFO Brian Andrews, and other senior leaders also added shares.
- QuiverQuant counts five open‑market insider purchases and zero insider sales over that period.
On the institutional side, the data show both large additions and major reductions, including big moves by Wellington Management, Veritas, Goldman Sachs, Price T. Rowe and others, underscoring how polarizing the stock has been among professional investors. [43]
Bull vs. bear: how to read COO stock after 4 December
The bullish case
Supporters of CooperCompanies after the 4 December news flow can point to:
- Defensible market positions
- CooperVision is one of the top global players in soft contact lenses, with strong specialty offerings and fast‑growing myopia‑control products like MiSight. [44]
- CooperSurgical has a diversified portfolio across fertility and women’s health, with management expecting a better fertility cycle in 2026. [45]
- Improving underlying profitability
- While GAAP margins dropped due to restructuring, non‑GAAP gross and operating margins improved, suggesting better cost discipline once one‑offs roll off. [46]
- Robust free cash flow and capital returns
- Potential value unlock from the strategic review
- Activists and management are now aligned—at least partially—on the need to simplify the portfolio and re‑rate the stock.
- A separation of CooperVision and CooperSurgical or other strategic moves could allow each business to be valued more in line with peers. [49]
- Supportive analyst targets
- Most aggregated forecasts cluster around mid‑$80s price targets, implying roughly 10–12% upside from current levels, with a clear majority of ratings in the Buy / Moderate Buy camp. [50]
The bearish case and key risks
Skeptics have their own list:
- GAAP earnings weakness and restructuring risk
- GAAP EPS fell 27% year‑over‑year in Q4, and operating profit dropped almost 30%, highlighting how vulnerable profitability is to cost inflation and restructuring charges. [51]
- There’s always a risk that “one‑time” charges recur if strategic changes drag on.
- Valuation is not cheap
- TickerNerd estimates a trailing P/E around 37x with revenue growth in the mid‑single digits and net margins near 10%. [52]
- Even with FCF improving, COO doesn’t screen as a deep value play.
- Leverage and macro exposure
- Debt‑to‑equity near 30x (on an accounting basis) and interest costs that, while declining, still eat into earnings. [53]
- Exposure to healthcare spending, fertility cycles and elective procedures could be pressured if macro conditions worsen.
- Execution and governance uncertainty
- Activists, a board transition, and a strategic review all happening at once can be distracting for management and employees.
- If the review ends with only incremental changes, investors who bid up the stock on breakup hopes could be disappointed.
- Mixed short‑term sentiment
- A Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and a technical “Sell” signal from TipRanks show not all models agree with the bullish narrative, especially in the near term. [54]
What it all means for investors
After the 4 December 2025 news, Cooper Companies has clearly become a “show‑me” story with real catalysts:
- Fundamentally, it is delivering steady mid‑single‑digit revenue growth, improving adjusted margins, and rising free cash flow, supported by strong niches in vision care and women’s health. [55]
- Strategically, activist pressure plus a formal review and new board leadership increase the odds of portfolio simplification and more shareholder‑friendly capital allocation. [56]
- On valuation, Wall Street sees single‑digit to low‑teens upside over the next 12 months, but the stock is still digesting years of underperformance and a complex narrative around GAAP vs non‑GAAP earnings. [57]
Whether COO is a good fit for you depends on your time horizon and risk tolerance:
- If you’re comfortable with activist‑driven change, some earnings noise, and the possibility of a break‑up or major transaction, CooperCompanies offers potential upside from both fundamental improvement and corporate actions.
- If you prefer clean GAAP earnings, low leverage and simple stories, the current mix of restructuring, activism and valuation may feel too messy.
Either way, the events of 4 December 2025 have turned Cooper Companies into one of the more interesting mid‑cap healthcare stories heading into 2026.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Always do your own research and consider consulting a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
References
1. www.globenewswire.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.stocktitan.net, 5. www.globenewswire.com, 6. www.globenewswire.com, 7. www.globenewswire.com, 8. www.nasdaq.com, 9. www.quiverquant.com, 10. www.globenewswire.com, 11. www.globenewswire.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. www.investing.com, 14. www.stocktitan.net, 15. www.stocktitan.net, 16. www.stocktitan.net, 17. www.globenewswire.com, 18. www.globenewswire.com, 19. www.globenewswire.com, 20. www.globenewswire.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.fiercebiotech.com, 23. www.fiercebiotech.com, 24. www.fiercebiotech.com, 25. www.fiercebiotech.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.stocktitan.net, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.stocktitan.net, 31. www.stocktitan.net, 32. www.stocktitan.net, 33. www.stocktitan.net, 34. www.marketbeat.com, 35. tickernerd.com, 36. www.quiverquant.com, 37. www.tipranks.com, 38. www.nasdaq.com, 39. public.com, 40. stockanalysis.com, 41. intellectia.ai, 42. www.quiverquant.com, 43. www.quiverquant.com, 44. www.investing.com, 45. www.investing.com, 46. www.stocktitan.net, 47. www.stocktitan.net, 48. www.stocktitan.net, 49. www.globenewswire.com, 50. www.marketbeat.com, 51. www.globenewswire.com, 52. tickernerd.com, 53. tickernerd.com, 54. www.nasdaq.com, 55. www.stocktitan.net, 56. www.globenewswire.com, 57. www.marketbeat.com
