TMO · 10-Q · 2026Q3 · Full report

Income Tax Rate Changes

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. · 2026-10-30 · Importance 59 · Surprise 82

The third-quarter 2026 GAAP tax rate was 16.9%, compared with 11.3% a year earlier, and the adjusted rate was 11.6%, compared with 11.0%. A $161 million deferred tax benefit from recognized tax attributes related to a domestication transaction affected both 2026 rates, while a $171 million tax expense on the microbiology sale affected the GAAP rate. For the first nine months of 2026, the GAAP rate was 10.3% and the adjusted rate was 11.3%; the period included $175 million of domestication-related deferred tax benefits and a $148 million deferred tax benefit tied to expected realization of deferred tax assets. Cash income-tax payments were $0.94 billion in the first nine months of 2026, and the company expected approximately $1.5 billion of cash tax payments for full-year 2026.

Key facts

• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s cash payments for income taxes are higher than income tax expense due primarily to the non-deductibility of intangible asset amortization and are expected to total approximately $1.5 billion in 2026. source
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s GAAP tax rate in the third quarter of 2026 was impacted by a $161 million deferred tax benefit from recognizing tax attributes related to a domestication transaction. source
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s third-quarter 2026 GAAP tax rate was also impacted by a $171 million tax expense related to the tax gain on the microbiology business sale. source
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates in the first nine months of 2026 were impacted by $175 million of deferred tax benefits from domestication-related tax attributes and a $148 million deferred tax benefit where deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized due to forecasted income. source