The Cooper Companies, Inc. COO
COO remains a hold. FY2025 revenue grew 5.1% to $4.09B and free cash flow improved to $433.7M from $288.1M on reduced capital expenditure, but gross margin compressed from 66.6% to 60.7%, operating income declined to $682.9M from $705.7M, and diluted EPS fell 4.6% to $1.87 — profitability is eroding even as the top line advances.
The stock has broken below both its 50-day ($72.40) and 200-day ($73.43) moving averages to $71.17 with a bearish MACD histogram and RSI of 39.2, and at 60.3x trailing earnings versus a peer median of 9.0x, the valuation premium leaves no room for further operational disappointment.
What could go wrong
- Margin compression persists. Gross margin already fell from 66.6% to 60.7% in FY2025; continued cost pressure would deepen the EPS decline and undermine the growth-stock narrative.
- Valuation de-rating. At 60.3x P/E versus a peer median of 9.0x, any earnings miss could trigger multiple compression alongside the ongoing fundamental deterioration.
- Rising debt burden. Total debt increased to $2.78B from $2.58B year-over-year, and higher interest costs could further pressure net income.
- Revenue growth deceleration. Top-line growth has slowed from 8.4% in FY2024 to 5.1% in FY2025; further deceleration would compound the margin compression problem.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: FMP FY2025 / derived_metrics · derived_metrics FY2024–FY2025 · FMP FY2025 / derived_metrics · FMP FY2025 vs FY2024. Orin's read on COO; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All COO filings| Form | Filed | What it says | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-Q | 5 Jun | The Cooper Companies, Inc. | read |
| 8-K | 4 Jun | The Cooper Companies, Inc. | read |
| 13G/A | 14 May | — | on file |
| 8-K | 4 May | The Cooper Companies will expand its board from nine to ten directors effective July 1, 2026 and appoint Paul Keel, deemed independent under Nasdaq rules, to the new seat and to… | read |
| 13G | 29 Apr | — | on file |
| 8-K | 8 Apr | Cooper Companies held its 2026 annual meeting on April 7, 2026, and all nine director nominees were elected with 168–179 million shares voted for each; KPMG’s appointment as FY… | read |
| 13G/A | 26 Mar | — | on file |
| 10-Q | 6 Mar | For the three months ended January 31, 2026, The Cooper Companies, Inc. | read |
Largest holders · 13F Q4 2023
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Group | $2.2B | 0.0% of fund |
| BlackRock | $1.6B | 0.0% of fund |
| State Street | $801.0M | 0.0% of fund |
| Capital World Investors | $532.7M | 0.1% of fund |
| Alliancebernstein L.P | $458.2M | 0.2% of fund |
| Geode Capital Management | $425.1M | 0.0% of fund |
72 filers · quarter ended Q4 2023 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 118 Form 4 filings, net $2.0M. Of the 50 on hand, 5 were open-market purchases and 0 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about COO
Orin answers questions about COO from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 19.1× | 37.3× | 26.4× |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.6× | 20.2× | — |
| P/S | 2.58× | 4.29× | — |
| P/B | 1.3× | 2.0× | — |
Its P/E sits 20th percentile of its own last 5 years (−1.07σ from its own mean).
10.9%
free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $0.4B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.
What Wall Street published
$66
$59 – $75 · +17% against today's price
- 14 buy or overweight
- 13 hold
- 1 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COOThe Cooper Companies, Inc. | $11B | 19.1× | 14.6× | 63.6% | 13.5% | 7% |
| SOLVSolventum Corporation | $15B | 10.8× | 7.8× | 54.7% | 17.3% | 29% |
| UHSUniversal Health Services, Inc. | $11B | 7.4× | 5.7× | 90.7% | 8.4% | 21% |
The median is of the 2 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 111.4% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Discounted cash flow
| Model | Fair value | Against | Computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard DCF | $58 | $68.18 · −15% | 2026-06-10 |
| Levered DCF | $54 | $68.18 · −21% | 2026-06-10 |
The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.