New York, Jan 13, 2026, 12:52 EST — Regular session
- Thermo Fisher shares dropped roughly 2% by midday following new partnership and leadership announcements
- Company collaborates with Nvidia on AI-driven lab automation; executives highlight “autonomous labs”
- SEC filing reveals COO exit and plans for a leadership shakeup in March
Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific dropped roughly 2% Tuesday, deepening a retreat in the life-sciences tools sector. The decline came despite the firm announcing a fresh strategic partnership with Nvidia and revealing some executive departures.
The announcements arrive as investors hunt for clear demand drivers in lab equipment and services, a sector that often moves with capital spending cycles and drugmakers’ R&D budgets. The Nvidia connection also pulls Thermo Fisher into the market’s hottest theme — artificial intelligence — where traders usually price in potential upfront and debate the timing afterward.
Thermo Fisher announced Monday it will team up with Nvidia to develop AI-driven solutions and lab automation. The goal: speed up and improve lab work by linking instruments, infrastructure, and data through AI software. Artificial intelligence here means software that learns from data patterns and automates tasks usually needing human judgment.
“Artificial intelligence combined with laboratory automation will change the way scientific work gets done,” said Thermo Fisher executive vice president Gianluca Pettiti in the statement. Nvidia’s healthcare vice president Kimberly Powell talked about an “era of ‘lab-in-the-loop’ science,” highlighting the move toward “autonomous labs.” Thermo Fisher Scientific Investors
In a separate filing, Thermo Fisher announced that COO Michel Lagarde will exit on March 31, with EVP Frederick Lowery leaving on Feb. 28. Marc Casper is set to step up as chairman and CEO on March 1, while Pettiti will assume the president and COO position. Executive vice president Michael Shafer will also take on a broader role, reporting directly to the CEO.
Nvidia has leveraged the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to push a wider narrative: its computing power and software can accelerate drug discovery and development. It also highlighted Thermo Fisher as a key partner in this strategy.
Thermo Fisher’s stock stood at $602.79. Nvidia edged up roughly 0.7%, while peers Danaher and Agilent dipped around 3.4% and 2.1%, respectively. The S&P 500 ETF slipped about 0.1%, and the health care sector ETF fell nearly 0.5%.
Thermo Fisher bulls face a risk that the collaboration might look more promising than it actually is in the short run. The company’s statement included forward-looking disclaimers, warning that outcomes could shift significantly as the partnership unfolds.
Thermo Fisher is gearing up to release its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings before the market opens on Jan. 29. The company will follow up with a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.
