Stock Market Sell-Off: Is Danaher Stock a Buy?

No one said investing was easy. And you will struggle to find anyone who says that the recent results of life sciences and diagnostics company Danaher(DHR 1.49%) were easy to understand. The company's earnings and revenue are moving around a lot due to the impact of COVID-19-related revenue, and that's creating a confusing picture. However, after sifting through the numbers and data, it's clear that Danaher's underlying growth looks strong, but there are question marks around its mid-term outlook.

Danaher's confusing numbers and outlook

A glance at Wall Street analysts' expectations for Danaher's growth for 2022 and 2023 hardly suggests it's a growth stock. After all, revenue growth of 4.3% and 0.5%, respectively, isn't anything to write home about. Most growth investors would walk away at that point. However, if you are prepared to dig deeper, there's a case for buying the stock.

The company was a significant beneficiary of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its diagnostic systems were used to test for COVID, and its life sciences equipment and consumables were used to develop COVID-related vaccines and therapies. As such, it's essential to separate its COVID and non-COVID-related revenue streams.