What happened
Shares in life sciences and diagnostics company Danaher (DHR -0.36%) rose 12.8% in April, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. An excellent set of first-quarter earnings drove the stock higher during the month. The company easily beat market expectations for the quarter and raised its full-year guidance.
Danaher is one of the big winners of the COVID-19 pandemic, benefiting not only from a surge in revenue from sales of its COVID-19 diagnostic tests but also the company's life sciences tools, which are widely used by customers working on both vaccines and therapies.
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With this in mind, it's no surprise that Danaher continues to report excellent numbers. However, it's also worth noting that management also raised full-year sales expectations for revenue not related to its COVID-19 solutions.
So what
Danaher is on track for a great 2021, but the more profound question is what happens in 2022 and beyond? Specifically, will Danaher be able to grow revenue as the pandemic subsides?
Investors can be optimistic on this front as its non-coronavirus revenue is growing at a high-single-digit clip in 2021. The company's overall revenue growth rate was in the mid single digits prior to the pandemic. Also, Danaher has been selling a lot of instrumentation and testing platforms due to the pandemic, which is opening up a new customer base for the company. Meanwhile, the global investment in vaccines could create an increased focus on vaccine research in the future.
Now what
Investors will be keeping an eye on the trajectory of both Danaher's pandemic-related revenue and its other revenue in 2021 and beyond. The former could benefit if there's a need for booster shots and children are cleared to receive vaccinations. In addition, the testing environment is unlikely to unwind anytime soon.
Meanwhile, its other revenue is partly a function of Danaher's ability to generate new business relationships due to the pandemic. The long-term future continues to look bright for the company.
