It can get a little ugly when darlings lose their luster, and Danaher (DHR) took some dings in 2017, leading to underperformance relative to other multi-industrials like Fortive (FTV), Honeywell (HON), 3M (MMM), and Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Considering the last couple of quarters, though, it looks as though Danaher is back on better operational footing and that 2018 will be a more "Danaher-like" year.
Given that Danaher spun off most of its industrial exposure, I still see the risk that Danaher will underperform some of those aforementioned peers for a little longer, as industrial recoveries spur greater growth. Longer term, though, I'm not really concerned. Like Honeywell, I can't really say that Danaher is "cheap", but it does appear to be less expensive than most of its peers and something of a relative bargain.
Improved Results To Close Out 2018
Danaher previewed its fourth quarter results earlier in the month at a major sell-side conference, but the actual report still had some pretty good news regarding the improving state of the business. Organic growth came in at 5.5%, a good result though not easily comparable to other multi-industrials given the heavy skew towards life sciences and healthcare at Danaher relative to its peer group.
