VLTO · 10-Q · 2026Q2 · Full report

Operating Expense and Profit Drivers

Veralto Corp · 2026-04-29 · Importance 44 · Surprise 32

SG&A expense was $448 million for the quarter and R&D was $68 million, each representing 31.5% and 4.8% of sales respectively, both unchanged as a percentage of sales versus prior year. Operating profit margin fell to 23.8% from 24.2% year-over-year, with unfavorable impacts including transaction/strategic initiative costs (combined ~30 bps), net dilutive impact of acquisitions/dispositions (~10 bps), and acquisition-related inventory adjustments (~10 bps). Favorable comparatives included transaction costs incurred in the prior-year quarter (~20 bps benefit). Segment-level operating margin impacts were called out separately for Water Quality and PQI driven by acquisition transaction costs (In‑Situ and GlobalVision) and sales/margin trends.

Key facts

• Net earnings for the three-month period ended April 3, 2026 totaled $254 million, compared to $225 million for the three-month period ended April 4, 2025.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses were $448 million for the three-month period ended April 3, 2026 and $419 million for the three-month period ended April 4, 2025.
• Operating profit margin was 23.8% for the three-month period ended April 3, 2026 and 24.2% for the three-month period ended April 4, 2025.
• SG&A as a percentage of sales was 31.5% for both the three-month periods ended April 3, 2026 and April 4, 2025.
• Decreased core sales, along with incremental labor costs and sales and marketing growth initiatives unfavorably impacted Product Quality & Innovation operating profit margins by 60 basis points in the first quarter 2026 vs first quarter 2025 comparison.
• Veralto had a workforce of nearly 17,000 employees as of December 31, 2025.

Impact estimates