Forensic Analysis · Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals / Biotech · as of Jun 27, 2026
QuidelOrtho Corp (QDEL)
A forensic read on QuidelOrtho Corp built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
C · Mixed — selective
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
-0.6
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
6
Forensic signals
-56.3%
ROE
$940M
Market cap
QuidelOrtho Corp earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is -0.6, placing it in the Distress zone. 6 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by receivables vs revenue.
What the filings flag
56d DSOReceivables vs revenue.Days sales outstanding moved from 37 to 56 days FY2024→FY2025 (receivables +48% vs revenue -2%). Receivables are outrunning sales — a flag for aggressive revenue recognition or slipping collections.
-15%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -15% and slipping from 54% — well below its ~10% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+19.3%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +58% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+19.3%/yr). The count is GROWING — existing holders are being diluted. That's ~19.3% shaved off per-share growth every year — total profit has to grow that much just to keep earnings-per-share flat, and a stake held since FY2022 has been diluted ~58%.
stoppedShareholder returns — halted.Capital returns have STOPPED — $7M of buybacks + dividends in FY2023, but ~$0 in FY2025. A halt usually means the company is conserving cash; understand why before reading it as neutral.
77dInventory days.Days inventory outstanding moved from 70 to 77 FY2024→FY2025 (against revenue (COGS not disclosed); inventory +8% vs -2% in revenue). Inventory is building a little faster than sales — watch for markdowns.
$2.5BGoodwill impairments.Took $2.5B of goodwill writedowns across 2 year(s) (FY2024 ($1.8B), FY2025 ($701M)). Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them — worth weighing on capital-allocation skill.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-41.5%
Debt / Equity1.38x
Free Cash Flow$-83.0M
Latest Revenue$2.73B
Return on Equity-58.9%
Revenue Growth YoY-1.9%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on QuidelOrtho Corp:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about QDEL's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown