Edwards Raises Outlook as Heart-Valve Sales Advance
Second-quarter sales reached $1.741 billion, up 13.6% from a year earlier.
Edwards Lifesciences (EW), the heart-valve maker, raised its 2026 growth outlook after transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies remained its fastest-growing product group.
Sales grew 12.5% in constant currency, nearly matching the first quarter’s 12.7% pace even as reported growth slowed from 16.7%. Revenue increased about 5.5% sequentially and stood about 10.9% above the fourth quarter.
GAAP diluted earnings from continuing operations fell to $0.42 a share from $0.57 a year earlier, reflecting tax and impairment charges. Adjusted earnings held at $0.78 a share from the first quarter and rose from $0.58 in the fourth quarter.
Transcatheter aortic-valve-replacement sales rose 11.3% to $1.258 billion, including 10.5% constant-currency growth. That pace eased from the first quarter, though sales increased about 4.9% sequentially. Average selling prices remained stable globally for a second consecutive quarter, leaving procedure volume as the source of growth.
Adjusted sales of transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies climbed 47.3% to $195.9 million and increased about 13.2% from the first quarter. Surgical sales rose 6.5% to $284 million, trailing the company’s catheter-based businesses. Constant-currency growth ranged from 10.1% in Japan to 14.4% across the rest of the world.
Operating margin expanded 270 basis points to 29.5%, helped by lower research-and-development and selling, general and administrative expenses as percentages of sales. Edwards continues to expect full-year operating margin at the high end of its original 28%-to-29% range. It now expects gross margin at the lower end of its 78%-to-79% range because of foreign-exchange hedging effects.
Edwards now expects 2026 constant-currency sales growth of 10% to 11%, lifting the low end for a second consecutive quarter. The company also raised its TAVR growth forecast to 8% to 9% and its TMTT sales range to $760 million to $780 million. Adjusted earnings guidance remains $2.95 to $3.05 a share.
A California tax-law change led to a $188.2 million deferred-tax valuation allowance, and Edwards recorded a $40 million impairment tied to an acquisition option it declined to exercise. The company also received U.S. approval for its ECLIPTIS surgical system and planned a measured rollout later in 2026. About $1.5 billion remained under its share-repurchase authorization after completion of a $500 million accelerated buyback.