Sotera Health Company (SHC) Goldman Sachs 47th Annual Global Healthcare Conference 2026 summary

Leadership transition and strategic direction

• CEO transition planned for 2026, with Alton, an experienced MedTech executive, selected for his strong cultural fit and commercial expertise.

• Strategic planning process underway, with a board review scheduled for August and a focus on long-term growth.

• Private equity sponsors have fully exited, and leverage has been reduced to 3.2x, with significant interest expense savings.

• Free cash flow is accelerating, and the company has maintained 20 consecutive years of growth.

Business performance and growth outlook

• Achieved 6.5% constant currency revenue growth and 20 basis points EBITDA margin expansion in Q1.

• Sterigenics expects volume-driven growth, with price increases around 4% and a step-up in the second half of the year.

• Bioprocessing is a smaller but growing segment, with efforts to gain market share and continued growth in Europe and the U.S.

• Nelson Labs saw a decline in expert advisory services but expects core lab business growth and margin recovery as the year progresses.

Regulatory and litigation environment

• NESHAP regulations for ethylene oxide sterilization have tightened, with $200 million invested in compliance; new rules are expected to be more practical than the 2024 version.

• Facilities are being upgraded to meet the latest standards, with CapEx for compliance expected to be largely completed by year-end.

• Ongoing litigation in Georgia and California centers on ethylene oxide emissions, with recent court decisions favoring the company due to lack of proven causation.

• Reevaluation of the 2016 IRIS value could impact future litigation outcomes.