Should You Retain Henry Schein Stock in Your Portfolio for Now?

Henry Schein, Inc.’s HSIC joint venture, Henry Schein One, is driving strong growth in its core products and introducing new solutions. The company’s robust partnership strategy helps it pursue targets that provide access to additional product lines. Investors are concerned about headwinds, such as a sluggish macroeconomic scenario and intense competition, which could affect Henry Schein’s operations.

Over the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has risen 6.4% compared with the industry’s 7.7% growth. The S&P 500 composite has risen 17.6% in the same time frame.

The leading distributor of healthcare products and services has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion. Henry Schein beat on earnings in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, delivering an average surprise of 2.1%.

Tailwinds for HSIC Stock

Henry Schein One Holds Potential: Henry Schein seems upbeat about its dental technology joint venture (JV), Henry Schein One. Throughout 2025, global growth in Henry Schein One was driven by the ongoing migration to its cloud-based practice management software solutions, Dentrix Ascend and Dentally. During the fourth quarter, Henry Schein One’s practice management software posted growth. In line with this, the company now has more than 11,000 customers subscribed to Dentrix Ascend and Dentally.

Henry Schein made a few notable developments in 2025, including a new partnership with Amazon Web Services (“AWS”). Through this collaboration, AWS’ generative AI technologies will be integrated across the Henry Schein One ecosystem, including Dentrix, Dentrix Ascend and Dentally, to usher in a new era of AI-powered dentistry.

Additionally, Henry Schein and Henry Schein One introduced LinkIt, a seamless digital workflow that enables dental teams using Dentrix to easily connect to a range of digital imaging, planning and design systems.

Expansion Through Acquisitions and Partnerships: Henry Schein’s revenue growth has been consistently supported by niche acquisitions and partnerships. In December 2025, Henry Schein expanded its agreement with vVARDIS to become the exclusive U.S. distributor of the drill-free Curodont Repair Fluoride Plus product across all dental market segments.

In August 2025, Henry Schein inked a strategic partnership with Oral Genome, a leading innovator in salivary testing. The collaboration is aimed at bringing Oral Genome’s cutting-edge point-of-care saliva testing nationwide through Henry Schein’s distribution channels.

In January 2025, Henry Schein completed the acquisition of Acentus, a national medical supplier specializing in the delivery of Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs). The acquisition expands Henry Schein’s homecare medical products platform. It also acquired R. Weinstein, Inc. to expand in the Hawaiian Islands.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Headwinds for HSIC Stock

Macroeconomic Challenges: The current macroeconomic environment across the globe is affecting Henry Schein’s financial operations. Particularly, exchange rate fluctuations, inflation and recession are adversely impacting the company’s operational results. With the sustained macroeconomic pressures, HSIC may struggle to keep its cost of revenues and operating expenses in check.

During the fourth quarter, Henry Schein’s gross margin contracted 19 basis points (bps) due to an 8% rise in the cost of sales. SG&A expenses increased 9.5% to $808 million in the quarter under review. The adjusted operating margin contracted 57 bps year over year.

Tough Competition: The U.S. healthcare products and service distribution industry is highly competitive and consists principally of national, regional and local distributors. The competition in the fast-growing animal health market is also fierce. The competitive landscape in the overseas market is tough. The tussle for market share might be a drag on results.

HSIC Stock Estimate Trend

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HSIC’s 2026 earnings per share has moved north 3 cents to $5.30 in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenues is pegged at $13.70 billion, indicating a 3.9% rise from the year-ago reported number.

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical GMED, Phibro Animal Health PAHC and Intuitive Surgical ISRG.

Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 5.2%, well ahead of the industry’s -1.6% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 18.8%. The company’s shares have rallied 15.9% against the industry’s 7.5% decline over the past year.

GMED sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Phibro Animal Health, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, has an earnings yield of 6.1% compared with the industry’s 2.6% return. Shares of the company have soared 156.6% against the industry’s 20.5% decline. PAHC’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 20.2%.

Intuitive Surgical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, has an earnings yield of 2.1% against the industry’s 0.7% decline. Shares of the company have dropped 6.2% compared with the industry’s 7.4% decline. ISRG’s earnings topped estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 13.2%.

Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock

This under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.

With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028.

See This Stock Now for Free >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG): Free Stock Analysis Report

Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC): Free Stock Analysis Report

Globus Medical, Inc. (GMED): Free Stock Analysis Report

Phibro Animal Health Corporation (PAHC): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research