Henry Schein reported an increase in net sales in Q1 of fiscal 2026, the first quarter under new chief executive officer Fred Lowery.
Total net sales grew 6.3% to $3.4 billion in the quarter ended March 28. During that period, the company’s U.S. dental equipment sales grew 3.4% thanks to strength in traditional product categories.
Meanwhile, digital sales at Henry Schein remained flat in Q1. That was due to price pressure from new competitors in the market, despite increasing sales volumes, Henry Schein told investors. However, that could be a sign of something more promising in the future.
“We continue to see lower-priced entrants to the market, which is actually helping drive demand of intraoral scanners,” chief financial officer Ronald South said. “And the beauty of intra-oral scanners … is once a practice is investing in intraoral scanners, they become a digital practice. Now, they become a customer to buy other digital equipment.”
Henry Schein ecommerce platform
As of Q1, more than 80% of U.S. dental ecommerce sales now go through HenrySchein.com, the medical supply company’s new consolidated online ordering platform.
In Q4, then-CEO Stanley Bergman proposed early 2026 as the goal to roll out to U.S. dental and Canadian customers, followed by U.S. medical customers and finally international business.
“We are well advanced in implementation across the U.S.,” Lowery said, with full U.S. rollout targeted for August.
The platform consolidates Henry Schein’s previously fragmented digital storefronts into a single website. It standardizes the ordering experience across dental merchandise, equipment and specialty categories.
The rollout of HenrySchein.com is a crucial part of the company’s BOLD+1 strategic plan to invest in high-growth, high-margin areas, the company said.
“This differentiated offering makes us the platform of choice for office-based practitioners,” Lowery said of the online platform.
Henry Schein launches AI workflows
Lowery said the company’s AI development pipeline is growing quickly. Henry Schein is integrating tools into its global suite of practice management software.
At its Thrive Live event in Las Vegas at the end of April and early May, Henry Schein launched what the company is calling its next-generation AI clinical workflow. It’s a voice-driven, AI-enabled product that Henry Schein built on AWS and embedded within the Dentrix Ascend platform
“The broad level of interest in our AI solutions was a clear signal that our customers are ready to embrace these tools and that Henry Schein is well positioned to lead that transition,” Lowery said.
Henry Schein said clinicians can use the tool to record voice notes, review radiographs, and flag diagnostic areas that need extra attention, all using AI.
“With Next Generation Clinical Workflow, we’re embedding intelligence directly into the flow of care, connecting what happens chairside to the operational and financial outcomes that follow,” said Dr. Ryan Hungate, chief clinical and strategy officer at Henry Schein, in a statement.
Next up, Henry Schein plans to add disease progression analysis, AI treatment planning coaching, voice charting and other capabilities.
Sign up
Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and YouTube.
Favorite