A Discounted Cash Flow model estimates what a business is worth by projecting the cash it can generate in the future and discounting those cash flows back to today. For Thermo Fisher Scientific, the model uses a 2 stage Free Cash Flow to Equity approach, based on $6.1 Billion of last twelve months free cash flow and analyst driven projections that extend into the next decade.
Analysts and extrapolations point to free cash flow rising to roughly $15.3 Billion by 2035, with intermediate forecasts such as about $8.6 Billion in 2026 and $11.3 Billion in 2029, all in $. Simply Wall St discounts each of these future figures back to today using its required return assumptions to arrive at an estimated intrinsic value of roughly $606.65 per share.
Compared with the current market price, this implies Thermo Fisher is trading at around a 7.3% discount to its DCF based fair value, suggesting the shares are modestly undervalued rather than a deep bargain.
Result: ABOUT RIGHT
Thermo Fisher Scientific is fairly valued according to our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), but this can change at a moment's notice. Track the value in your watchlist or portfolio and be alerted on when to act.
For a profitable, established business like Thermo Fisher Scientific, the Price to Earnings (PE) ratio is a natural way to gauge valuation because it directly compares what investors pay with what the company actually earns. In general, faster earnings growth and lower perceived risk justify a higher PE, while slower growth or more uncertainty should translate into a lower, more conservative multiple.
Thermo Fisher currently trades on a PE of 32.2x, which sits slightly below both the Life Sciences industry average of about 35.2x and the peer average of roughly 34.5x. Simply Wall St also calculates a proprietary Fair Ratio of 30.8x, an estimate of what Thermo Fisher’s PE should be once you factor in its earnings growth profile, margins, risk characteristics, industry positioning, and market cap. This Fair Ratio is more tailored than a simple peer or industry comparison because it adjusts for the company’s specific strengths and risks rather than assuming all Life Sciences stocks deserve the same multiple.
With the actual PE of 32.2x only modestly above the 30.8x Fair Ratio, the shares look reasonably valued on earnings.
Result: ABOUT RIGHT
PE ratios tell one story, but what if the real opportunity lies elsewhere? Discover 1455 companies where insiders are betting big on explosive growth.
Earlier we mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation, so let us introduce Narratives, a simple, story driven framework on Simply Wall St’s Community page. With Narratives, you combine your view of a company’s future, your assumptions for revenue, earnings and margins, and your fair value estimate into a single, living storyline. This links what Thermo Fisher Scientific does today to a financial forecast and then to a buy or sell decision based on how that Fair Value compares with the current Price. It updates automatically when new news or earnings arrive, so that two investors can reasonably disagree, with one Narrative leaning cautious at around $540 per share and another more optimistic at roughly $626 per share, yet both using the same intuitive tool to decide whether Thermo Fisher is attractively priced or fully valued at any given moment.
For Thermo Fisher Scientific, however, we will make it really easy for you with previews of two leading Thermo Fisher Scientific Narratives:
🐂 Thermo Fisher Scientific Bull Case
Fair value: $626 per share
Implied undervaluation: 10.1% below this fair value
Forecast revenue growth: 5.22% per year
🐻 Thermo Fisher Scientific Bear Case
Fair value: $540 per share
Implied overvaluation: 4.2% above this fair value
Forecast revenue growth: 7.0% per year
Whether you lean toward the more optimistic or more cautious storyline, these two Narratives show how different but reasonable assumptions on growth, margins, and risk can lead to distinct fair value estimates and, ultimately, different decisions on Thermo Fisher Scientific at today’s price.
Do you think there's more to the story for Thermo Fisher Scientific? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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