...July 22, 2020 TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) July 22, 2020--S&P Global Ratings said today that its rating and outlook on life science company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (###+/Stable/A-2) are unchanged following the company's strong second-quarter earnings. Thermo Fisher's second-quarter sales were up 10% over the prior year, largely because of about $1.3 billion in COVID-19-related sales. Before the pandemic, we had projected Thermo Fisher would have mid-single-digit top-line growth. The stronger-than-expected performance thus far for 2020 alleviates some concerns of a significant, albeit likely short-term, negative sales impact for life science companies, given COVID-19-related disruptions to research and development and lab activity at governmental and academic settings. The sustainability of the demand for COVID-19-related products is uncertain, though we believe demand should remain solid, given the still-high demand for COVID-19 testing instrumentation, diagnostic kits, and reagents...
