Cooper Companies Stock Plummets After Scrapping Sale of Surgical Unit, Issuing Weak Guidance

Cooper Companies (COO) stock plunged 15.3% in after-hours trading after the medical device maker announced it would retain its CooperSurgical unit, concluding a strategic review without the sale many investors had anticipated. The decision, combined with a weak financial outlook, sent shares tumbling to $53.80.

Strategic Review Disappoints Investors

The primary driver for the sell-off was the company's decision to keep its CooperSurgical women’s health and fertility business. The strategic review was initiated in December 2025 under pressure from activist investors, raising market expectations for a potential divestiture.

According to the company, its board unanimously concluded that offers from interested parties did not adequately reflect the unit's value. The board cited two key headwinds that suppressed bids:

• The emergence of a new competitor in the non-hormonal IUD market.
• The financial impact of a recent fertility litigation settlement.

Weak Guidance Overshadows Earnings Beat

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While the company reported a modest beat for its fiscal third quarter, its forward-looking guidance underwhelmed investors. For Q3 2026, Cooper reported non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.15, slightly ahead of the $1.12 consensus, on revenue that grew 1% year-over-year to $1.066 billion, which was in line with expectations.

However, management issued a cautious outlook, citing U.S. channel inventory reductions at its CooperVision segment that are expected to persist into the fourth quarter. The company guided for Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $1.05–$1.09 and full-year revenue of $4.229–$4.252 billion, implying organic growth of only 2–3%.

Market Reaction

The sharp after-hours decline was company-specific, as the broader S&P 500 index was flat for the day. While Cooper's board expanded its share repurchase authorization from $2 billion to $3 billion, the capital return gesture was insufficient to offset the negative sentiment from the strategic review's outcome and the muted forecast.