West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.21, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.70 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 17.90% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services updated its FY 2026 guidance to 7.850-8.200 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from West Pharmaceutical Services’ conference call:

• Q4 outperformance and cash generation. Revenues of $805M and adjusted EPS of $2.04 beat expectations, with free cash flow up ~70% for the year, strengthening the company’s liquidity and financial flexibility.
• 2026 guidance indicates continued growth and margin expansion. Management guided to 5%–7% organic revenue growth, adjusted EPS $7.85–$8.20, and >100 bps of margin expansion, signaling confidence in underlying demand.
• HVP components remain the primary growth engine. High-value product components (48% of sales) grew strongly (15% in Q4), driven by GLP-1s, Annex 1 upgrades, and biologics/biosimilars, and the company launched the Synchrony syringe platform and began Dublin drug?handling commercialization.
• Near-term capacity constraints and operational disruptions. Management said demand currently outstrips supply (notably in Europe), requiring continued capacity and labor additions, and a temporary Arizona water-main incident hurt contract manufacturing results in Q4.
• SmartDose 3.5 divestiture expected mid?year. The planned sale (previously ~ $55M of H2 2025 sales) aligns with strategy to focus on HVP components and should be neutral-to-positive for margins, but reduces device revenue exposure and is a near-term model adjustment.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock traded up $6.38 on Friday, hitting $249.99. The company had a trading volume of 980,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,847. West Pharmaceutical Services has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $322.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $260.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.55.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 13.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore dropped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $314.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $715,884,000 after purchasing an additional 68,330 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $429,733,000 after buying an additional 585,855 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,531,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $421,476,000 after buying an additional 53,229 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,172,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $307,604,000 after buying an additional 131,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 905,656 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $249,182,000 after buying an additional 20,420 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting West Pharmaceutical Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat-and-guide: WST reported Q4 EPS of $2.04 vs. $1.83 consensus and revenue of $805M, and issued FY?2026 EPS guidance of $7.85–$8.20 with revenue ~$3.2–3.3B — the core reason investors pushed the stock higher. West Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand for drug components: Reuters highlights management’s forecast for 2026 profit above estimates driven by robust demand for HVP components (syringes, cartridges), supporting margin and cash?flow outlook. West Pharma forecasts 2026 profit above estimates on strong demand for drug components
• Positive Sentiment: Proprietary product progress and outlook: Company commentary and analyst notes emphasize SmartDose and HVP-led growth, with management signaling SmartDose sale activity by mid?2026 — a potential revenue/margin driver. WST’s Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat, SmartDose Sale by Mid-2026, Stock Up
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy and kept a $350 price target, citing non?GLP?1 growth, margin expansion and regulatory tailwinds — reinforcing investor confidence. Buy Rating on West
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction coverage: Multiple outlets (Yahoo, Seeking Alpha, TipRanks) note stock strength following results and outlook, reflecting broad positive market reception. West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) Is Up 5.2% After Strong 2025 Results And 2026 Organic Growth Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance detail and call transcript: The full earnings call transcript and slide deck provide execution details and cadence for HVP and SmartDose commercialization — useful for modeling but not new directional news. West Pharmaceutical Services Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/value comparison: A Zacks piece compares Cooper (COO) and WST for value seekers — useful for allocation decisions but not directly driving WST’s move. COO vs. WST: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro market commentary: Coverage noting WST’s role in broader indices/futures is descriptive — relevant for positioning but secondary to fundamentals. Is West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) a Pillar In S&P 500 Futures Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Relative underperformance note: MarketWatch flags that WST has underperformed some competitors recently despite daily gains — a reminder of sector competition and potential valuation scrutiny. West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. stock underperforms despite daily gains

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.