While the S&P 500 is up 24.4% since April 2025, Solventum (currently trading at $71.44 per share) has lagged behind, posting a return of 8.1%. This may have investors wondering how to approach the situation.
Is there a buying opportunity in Solventum, or does it present a risk to your portfolio? Get the full stock story straight from our expert analysts, it’s free for active Edge members.
Why Is Solventum Not Exciting?
We're cautious about Solventum. Here are three reasons you should be careful with SOLV and a stock we'd rather own.
1. Slow Organic Growth Suggests Waning Demand In Core Business
We can better understand Surgical Equipment & Consumables - Diversified companies by analyzing their organic revenue. This metric gives visibility into Solventum’s core business because it excludes one-time events such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures along with foreign currency fluctuations - non-fundamental factors that can manipulate the income statement.
Over the last two years, Solventum’s organic revenue averaged 2% year-on-year growth. This performance was underwhelming and suggests it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy, which can add an extra layer of complexity to its operations. 
2. Revenue Projections Show Stormy Skies Ahead
Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite.
Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Solventum’s revenue to drop by 4.6%, a decrease from This projection doesn't excite us and indicates its products and services will face some demand challenges.
3. Free Cash Flow Margin Dropping
If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.
As you can see below, Solventum’s margin dropped by 15.7 percentage points over the last four years. If its declines continue, it could signal increasing investment needs and capital intensity. Solventum’s free cash flow margin for the trailing 12 months was 1.8%.
Final Judgment
Solventum’s business quality ultimately falls short of our standards. With its shares lagging the market recently, the stock trades at 11.9× forward P/E (or $71.44 per share). This valuation is reasonable, but the company’s shakier fundamentals present too much downside risk. We're fairly confident there are better investments elsewhere. Let us point you toward a top digital advertising platform riding the creator economy.
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