Perrigo's Rebuilding Year: New CEO, Tariff Refunds, and a Stock on the Move

The confident newcomer

When Albert Manzone took the helm as Interim CEO in early 2026, he inherited a Perrigo that had spent years shedding businesses, fixing quality issues, and watching its stock drift from a 2015 peak of $203.69 to a low that left a -93% drawdown in its wake. On the Q2 2026 call, Manzone did not shy away from that legacy. “The confidence of the investment community must be re-earned, and I take this personally.” — Albert Manzone, Interim President and CEO · 2026-08-05 He framed his first month as a listening tour, meeting customers, investors, and the internal team. The message: the CEO transition is an opportunity to reset the narrative around Perrigo's unique position as a leader in affordable self-care, with roughly half its sales in store brand OTC and half in branded OTC across Europe.

Manzone's emphasis on growth building blocks—innovation, demand generation, distribution—echoed the language of prior calls, but the cadence was different. He hammered on execution: "It's not only about strategy, but it's also about execution." That was a subtle but real pivot from the prior CEO's more brand-building-focused rhetoric, and it signals that Perrigo will try to out-muscle peers on the ground rather than wait for the category to recover.

Three-S in practice

The operational enhancement program remains the workhorse. Management reported that U.S. service levels are up 1,600 basis points to 91% and international levels up 1,000 basis points to 95% since 2023. Those improvements are translating into gain share—50 basis points of share in the U.S. and another 60 in the last four weeks. “We continue to gain share, which is a clear sign our strategy is working and that we will benefit when demand normalizes.” — Albert Manzone, Interim President and CEO · 2026-08-05

The Dermacosmetics divestiture, closed in Q2 for $359 million, has been used to reduce debt. The company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 outlook despite a 3.2% all-in net sales decline in the quarter, with core adjusted EPS of $0.46. CFO Eduardo Bezerra was careful to note that the beat was driven largely by onetime items, including a $10 million tariff benefit and a $6 million benefit from the CEO transition. He said,

Given the dynamic external environment and timing of Infant Formula contract sales, we are taking a measured approach for the balance of the year.

The Category trends are still soft—self-care volumes turned positive only in the four weeks ended July 19—but the underlying cost structure is improving. The company quantified the 2026 under-absorption drag at roughly $0.60 per share, with $0.44 already recognized in the first half. That should fade in 2027, and the operational enhancement program is expected to deliver $80-100 million of savings by then.

A tariff refund tailwind, with a caveat

Perrigo is not alone in booking cash from IEEPA tariff refunds—global earnings transcripts are littered with similar mentions, and the IEEPA refund is one of the most discussed topics across the market this quarter. The $10 million benefit in Q2 was small relative to a $969 million revenue base, but it helped offset weakness in the All Other segments. “The benefit that we had related to tariffs was around $10 million,” — Eduardo Bezerra, CFO or Finance Executive · 2026-08-05 confirmed Bezerra. The company said it expects these refunds to continue, but it did not raise guidance, suggesting management wants to avoid repeating the past mistake of over-promising.

This is a notable shift from the prior calls, where tariffs were discussed largely as a cost headwind. In the February 2026 call, Eduardo said the company would mitigate 100% of the tariff impact through pricing and sourcing. Now, the refunds have turned into a tailwind. In May, the conversation was still about the "abnormally weak cough/cold season." “This was an abnormally weak cough/cold season, both in the U.S. and many countries throughout Europe,” — Patrick Lockwood-Taylor, CEO · 2026-05-06 said the then-CEO. The tone has shifted from defense to offense.

Balance sheet and the tape

The effective net cash position sits at -$3.3 billion, but the Dermacosmetics sale allowed the company to pay down its revolving credit facility significantly. Leverage remains elevated, but the trajectory is improving. The stock has responded: “We remain focused on disciplined capital allocation, balancing capital expenditures for growth, de-leveraging our balance sheet and shareholder returns.” — Eduardo Bezerra, CFO or Finance Executive · 2026-08-05 That balance is what investors want to see, and the 31.2% rally in the last 90 days suggests the market is starting to believe the turnaround story.

Perrigo's journey is far from complete, but the combination of a new CEO focused on execution, a cost program that is tracking ahead, share gains in both store brand and branded OTC, and the unexpected boost from tariff refunds gives it a credible path to improve margins and cash flow in 2027. The prior CEO spoke of having "more molecules" and "cover more price points" to reach consumers. “We have more molecules. We cover more price points. Ultimately, that allows us to reach more consumers.” — Patrick Lockwood-Taylor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) · 2026-02-26 Now Perrigo must prove it can convert that reach into lasting profitability.