Quick, material development — FY2024 growth and the disconnect with the share price#
The most consequential development for The Cooper Companies, [COO], is a clear decoupling between underlying operating performance and market sentiment: FY2024 revenue rose to $3.90B (+8.64% YoY) while net income jumped to $392.3M (+33.36% YoY), yet the stock is trading near $73.54 — down -2.23% on the latest session — as investors focus on CooperSurgical demand softness, tariff-driven cost pressure, and inventory destocking risk. Those headline numbers come from the company’s fiscal filings for the year ended October 31, 2024, and they tell a mixed but instructive story about where value is being created and where execution risks are concentrated CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Fiscal Filings (PDF).
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The tension is simple and immediate: CooperVision is delivering product-led revenue and margin expansion that materially lifted operating profit (+32.38% YoY), while CooperSurgical remains the drag on consolidated growth and margin outlook. At the same time, the company is navigating tariff exposure and distributor destocking that are transient but capable of depressing near-term operating cash conversion. The following analysis links the operational drivers to the financials, quantifies balance-sheet flexibility and capital allocation, and isolates the catalysts and risks investors should monitor in the next two quarters.
Earnings snapshot and what moved the P&L in FY2024#
CooperCompanies reported FY2024 revenue of $3.90 billion and gross profit of $2.60 billion, producing a gross margin of 66.67%. Operating income expanded to $705.7 million (operating margin 18.10%) and the company recorded net income of $392.3 million (net margin 10.06%). These results are drawn from the FY2024 consolidated statements in the company filing and reflect both top-line momentum and operating leverage across the group CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Fiscal Filings (PDF).
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Year-over-year performance shows healthy operating leverage: revenue increased by +8.64% versus FY2023, while operating income expanded by +32.38% and EBITDA rose from $885.9M to $1.07B (+20.79%). That divergence — faster margin improvement than top-line growth — is primarily a function of product mix and scale in CooperVision and disciplined cost control in corporate and CooperSurgical operations.
But quality checks matter. Operating cash flow for FY2024 was $709.3M, and free cash flow was $288.1M, producing a free-cash-flow margin of 7.39%. The gap between net income and cash conversion is largely attributable to working-capital moves (a working-capital swing of -$333.7M in FY2024) and elevated capital expenditures as the company invested in manufacturing capacity and other projects. Those cash dynamics are important when assessing whether the margin improvement is durable or subject to reversals as inventories normalize.
(Table 1 and Table 2 below summarize the multi-year income statement and balance-sheet/cash-flow trends referenced in this section.)
Income statement — FY2021 to FY2024#
| Fiscal Year | Revenue (USD) | Gross Profit (USD) | Operating Income (USD) | Net Income (USD) | Gross Margin | Operating Margin | Net Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3,900,000,000 | 2,600,000,000 | 705,700,000 | 392,300,000 | 66.67% | 18.10% | 10.06% |
| 2023 | 3,590,000,000 | 2,360,000,000 | 533,100,000 | 294,200,000 | 65.62% | 14.84% | 8.19% |
| 2022 | 3,310,000,000 | 2,140,000,000 | 507,600,000 | 385,800,000 | 64.67% | 15.34% | 11.66% |
| 2021 | 2,920,000,000 | 1,960,000,000 | 505,800,000 | 2,940,000,000 | 66.92% | 17.31% | 100.76% |
(All P&L figures are taken from the company’s fiscal filings for the periods ending October 31 of the relevant year; FY2021 reported an extraordinary non-operating item that materially inflated net income, which is why net margin there is an outlier) CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Fiscal Filings (PDF).
Balance sheet and cash flow snapshot — FY2021 to FY2024#
| Fiscal Year | Cash & Equivalents (USD) | Total Assets (USD) | Total Debt (USD) | Net Debt (USD) | Total Equity (USD) | Operating Cash Flow (USD) | Free Cash Flow (USD) | CapEx (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 107,600,000 | 12,320,000,000 | 2,580,000,000 | 2,480,000,000 | 8,080,000,000 | 709,300,000 | 288,100,000 | 421,200,000 |
| 2023 | 120,800,000 | 11,660,000,000 | 2,570,000,000 | 2,450,000,000 | 7,550,000,000 | 607,500,000 | 215,000,000 | 392,500,000 |
| 2022 | 138,200,000 | 11,490,000,000 | 2,760,000,000 | 2,630,000,000 | 7,170,000,000 | 692,400,000 | 450,400,000 | 242,000,000 |
| 2021 | 95,900,000 | 9,610,000,000 | 1,480,000,000 | 1,390,000,000 | 6,940,000,000 | 738,600,000 | 524,200,000 | 214,400,000 |
(Balance-sheet and cash-flow items are from company filings; note the marked rise in acquisitions and capex in FY2024 that influenced net cash used for investing activities) CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Supplemental PDF.
Segment dynamics: CooperVision powering growth, CooperSurgical lagging#
The underlying operational split is the clearest strategic story. CooperVision — the contact-lens franchise — is the primary growth engine and is driving both revenue and margin expansion through premium product mix, accelerated myopia-management adoption (MiSight) and share gains in specialty categories (toric, multifocal). Management commentary and market reports cited in the company’s investor materials indicate CooperVision’s product cadence contributed meaningfully to the FY2024 expansion in gross margin and operating leverage CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Supplemental PDF.
By contrast, CooperSurgical — which represents a smaller but strategically important portion of consolidated revenue (management commentary has placed it near mid-teens to low-20s percentage of revenue depending on product mix and acquisitions) — has been affected by cyclical fertility procedure volumes, particularly in parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Multiple external previews and the company’s own disclosures have pointed to a temporary decline in fertility demand tied to demographic timing effects and regional cycles; this has constrained consolidated organic growth and put pressure on segment margins Seeking Alpha – Cooper Companies Q3 Preview.
The practical consequence in FY2024 was that CooperVision’s margin tailwind had to absorb CooperSurgical’s slower top-line environment. Management flagged that CooperSurgical margins would recover by H2 FY2025 as fixed-cost dilution corrects and as the company implements targeted cost actions. Investors should watch the next two quarterly calls for regional procedure volumes, product ramp commentary, and any quantified gateposts for margin recovery.
Margin decomposition, cash conversion and balance-sheet flexibility#
Decomposing the FY2024 margin picture shows three drivers: product mix (premium lenses), operating leverage (scale in manufacturing), and controlled SG&A relative to revenue. Gross margin improved to 66.67%, driven by a higher mix of premium lenses and ongoing product transitions; operating margin widened to 18.10%, reflecting the operating-leverage effect of CooperVision’s growth and corporate cost discipline.
However, quality matters: free cash flow of $288.1M (FCF margin 7.39%) is less robust than the net-income trajectory because of a sizeable working-capital outflow (-$333.7M) and elevated capital spending ($421.2M). The company also increased M&A activity in FY2024 (acquisitions net -$343.4M), which explains most of the jump in investing cash outflows versus the prior year. These moves are consistent with management’s strategy to augment CooperSurgical’s portfolio and expand manufacturing capacity in CooperVision, but they temporarily compress cash conversion.
On leverage metrics, CooperCompanies ended FY2024 with total debt of $2.58B and net debt of $2.48B. Using FY2024 EBITDA of $1.07B, a simple net-debt-to-EBITDA calculation yields ~2.32x, which is within a typical mid-cap medical-device range but elevated relative to the company’s historical net-debt position in 2021–2022. Debt-to-equity at year-end is ~0.32x (32%), a comfortable ratio that affords additional flexibility for bolt-on M&A or share-repurchase programs should management prioritize them CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Fiscal Filings (PDF).
Finally, return measures: using average stockholders’ equity (average of FY2023 and FY2024 equity = $7.815B), FY2024 ROE calculates to ~5.02%. That figure is consistent with the company’s reported TTM ROE in sources and reflects a combination of moderate profitability and a capital-intensive business model.
Capital allocation, buybacks and acquisition posture#
Capital allocation in FY2024 tilted toward reinvestment and selective M&A rather than aggressive repurchases. Share repurchases dropped to $8.3M in FY2024 from $23M in FY2023, while acquisitions accelerated to -$343.4M of net cash used for acquisitions in FY2024 versus -$56.5M the prior year. Management has signaled that incremental M&A will be targeted and complementary to CooperSurgical’s product set, aimed at shortening time-to-market and improving procedural breadth in fertility and women’s health CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Supplemental PDF.
This allocation mix explains part of the working-capital and cash-flow profile observed in FY2024: the company is prioritizing strategic capability builds while keeping buybacks modest. With net debt at ~$2.48B and a current ratio of ~1.91x (total current assets of $1.95B vs. total current liabilities of $1.02B), balance-sheet flexibility remains intact, but incremental leverage would reduce the margin for error if CooperSurgical’s cyclical weakness endures.
Valuation context and consensus expectations#
Market pricing reflects the mixed story. As of the latest quote in the dataset the stock trades at $73.54 with a trailing P/E of ~35.53x (EPS = $2.07), market capitalization near $14.67B, and enterprise-value multiples that imply investors are paying for forward recovery in earnings and margin expansion. Forward analyst estimates embedded in consensus models show EPS progression toward the mid-single digits by FY2026–2028 (consensus estimated EPS of $4.435 for FY2026 and $5.58 for FY2028 in the dataset), which is why forward P/E multiples compress into the high-teens on forward numbers — a material difference from the trailing multiple StockAnalysis – COO Statistics.
Two valuation observations are constructive for how the market is framing risk: first, the trailing multiple is rich relative to peers because it captures both the high-margin, product-led growth of CooperVision and the structural optionality of CooperSurgical; second, forward multiples assume execution on margin recovery and sustained MiSight and premium-lens adoption. If either of those assumptions falters, the market could reprice quickly because a large proportion of the upside is tied to path-dependent operating improvements.
Key risks, catalysts and the near-term watchlist#
The risks are straightforward and quantifiable: a protracted fertility slowdown in key APAC markets (regional demographic cycles), unexpected tariff escalation that increases COGS, slower-than-expected MiSight uptake, and an extended distributor destocking cycle that depresses near-term revenues and inflates working capital. The company’s filings and external previews specifically call out tariff exposure and regional fertility cycles as key uncertainties to near-term guidance Seeking Alpha – Cooper Companies Q3 Preview; management has stated the company is addressing these via supply-chain diversification, pricing actions and safety-stock adjustments.
Catalysts that could re-rate the business include quantifiable margin improvement in CooperSurgical (management’s stated H2 FY2025 path), continued premium-lens and MiSight share gains in CooperVision that sustain high gross margins, and evidence of normalizing working capital (inventory turns improving and a reversal of the current working-capital outflow). Near-term earnings calls and the upcoming earnings-announcement window — the dataset flags an earnings announcement around 2025-08-27 — are obvious near-term catalysts to watch for more granular disclosure on tariffs, inventory and fertility region trends MarketBeat – Cooper Companies Instant Alert (Earnings Release).
What this means for investors — the pragmatic takeaway#
Investors should interpret the FY2024 results as evidence that CooperVision’s product-led strategy is working: premium mix and myopia-management adoption are lifting margins and operating income materially faster than revenue. At the same time, the company’s cash profile shows the cost of that strategy — elevated capex, acquisition spending and working-capital swings — which compress near-term free cash flow despite higher reported profitability.
From a positioning viewpoint, the company now sits between two narratives: a high-quality medical-device platform whose earnings recovery is plausible if CooperSurgical’s cyclical weakness abates, and a business with short-term execution and macro risks (tariffs and destocking) that could temporarily reverse the favorable margin trend. The next two quarters of segment disclosure will either cement management’s H2 recovery timeline or force a more conservative view on FY2026 upside embedded in forward multiples.
Final synthesis and key takeaways#
CooperCompanies delivered FY2024 revenue of $3.90B (+8.64%) and net income of $392.3M (+33.36%), with operating leverage concentrated in CooperVision and a cyclical drag in CooperSurgical. Cash conversion is the watch item: operating cash flow of $709.3M and free cash flow of $288.1M lag the headline profit expansion due to working-capital swings and elevated capex. Balance-sheet metrics — net debt ~$2.48B and net-debt-to-EBITDA of ~2.32x — leave room for disciplined M&A, but they also reduce flexibility if the fertility downturn lasts longer than management expects.
Three concrete datapoints investors should monitor in the immediate term are: (1) regional fertility procedure trends and any quantitative guideposts on CooperSurgical recovery, (2) tariff-related incremental COGS and any disclosed mitigation or pricing actions, and (3) working-capital normalization (days inventory outstanding / inventory turns). Those three items will determine whether forward consensus earnings and the implied forward P/E compression are supported by execution or whether the market will require a more conservative rerating.
Key documents and sources used in this analysis include CooperCompanies’ fiscal filings and supplemental investor materials, earnings previews and sector research that highlight tariff and fertility-cycle risk, and consensus-statistics sources for valuation context CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Fiscal Filings (PDF) CooperCompanies Investor Materials – Supplemental PDF Seeking Alpha – Cooper Companies Q3 Preview StockAnalysis – COO Statistics MarketBeat – Cooper Companies Instant Alert (Earnings Release).
Bold, traceable financials and the company’s own forward commentary will determine whether the market’s cautious positioning or its forward optimism is the better description of value. The next two quarters should materially clarify which narrative prevails.