GE HealthCare rose about 8% and Labcorp about 10% to a 52-week high. ADP raised its revenue outlook and fell about 3%.
Three large companies reported beats and raised their forecasts on Wednesday morning. The market paid for two of them.
GE HealthCare: margin and a deal
GE HealthCare reported third-quarter revenue of $5.5 billion, up 7.2% and 6.2% organically, above the $5.35 billion analysts expected. Adjusted earnings rose 25.1% to $1.34 a share, against an estimate of $1.20, and the adjusted operating margin widened 1.8 percentage points to 16.6%. Organic orders rose 4% and backlog reached $23.7 billion.
The company raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $4.95 to $5.05 a share from $4.80 to $5.00 and expects at least $1.6 billion of free cash flow. It also agreed to buy SOFIE Biosciences for $945 million. The shares rose about 7.6% to $76.52.
Labcorp: a new high
Labcorp said it had a strong third quarter and raised its full-year 2026 guidance. Its shares rose about 10.2% to about $365, after touching a 52-week high of $371.
ADP: a beat that sold off
ADP reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $5.49 billion, up 6%, and adjusted earnings of $2.82 a share, up 13% and above the $2.77 estimate. The adjusted operating margin widened 1.3 percentage points to 26.8%. The payroll processor raised its fiscal 2027 revenue growth outlook to about 6%, from 5% to 6%, and kept its forecast for 70 to 90 basis points of margin expansion.
The shares fell about 2.8% to $284.86.
Why the split?
One possible explanation is the size of the surprise. GE HealthCare beat its earnings estimate by about 12% and raised its outlook by a meaningful amount, while adding a growth acquisition. ADP beat by about 2% and raised revenue guidance by a fraction, while leaving its margin outlook unchanged. For a stock valued as a steady compounder, a small beat and a small raise may not be enough.
If that reading is right, investors are rewarding companies where results moved the outlook, not those where results confirmed it. Labcorp's detailed figures were not available at publication.
What to watch
GE HealthCare's order growth and the closing of the SOFIE deal, Labcorp's detailed guidance and volumes, and ADP's employment and pay trends as a read on the U.S. labor market.