DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) is the world's largest diversified dental products manufacturer, but with a revised full-year 2025 revenue outlook of $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion, are they positioned for a rebound or a deeper correction?

This is a company with roots stretching back to 1899, now focused on digital dentistry through its DS Core platform, and still investing over $125 million annually in research and development (R&D) to empower dental professionals to provide better, safer, faster care. Recent Q3 2025 net sales of $904 million show the challenges of their 'Return-to-Growth' action plan, so you need to understand the underlying business model, from implants to CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) systems, to make a defintely informed investment decision.

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) History

You're looking for the bedrock of DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc., and honestly, it's not one company; it's two titans merging in 2016. DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. is the result of a $14.5 billion merger of equals between Dentsply International, a consumables powerhouse, and Sirona Dental Systems, a leader in digital dental technology. To understand the current firm, you have to look back over a century to the origins of both foundational companies.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company's American roots trace back to 1899 with the establishment of Dentists' Supply Company.

Original location

The Dentists' Supply Company was originally located in New York City.

Founding team members

The original American entity was founded by three men: Dr. Jacob Frick Franz, John Sheppard, and Dean Osborne. They started with a vision to professionalize dental supplies.

Initial capital/funding

The initial investment to charter the Dentists' Supply Company was a modest $10,000, which is defintely the definition of a high-leverage start.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory is defined by a few massive, strategic shifts-not just incremental growth. These moments fundamentally changed what DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. is and how it operates today.

• The 2016 Merger: Digital Integration is Key. The combination of Dentsply and Sirona was a true game-changer. It wasn't just about getting bigger; it was about integrating Dentsply's vast portfolio of dental consumables-things like anesthetics and restorative materials-with Sirona's market-leading digital technology, especially the CEREC system (chairside CAD/CAM). This merger created the first company that could truly offer an end-to-end digital workflow for dental professionals.
• The Byte Acquisition and Subsequent Write-Downs. The 2021 acquisition of Byte for over $1 billion was a bold bet on the DTC orthodontics market. However, the second quarter of 2025 saw a non-cash impairment charge of ($214) million on goodwill and other intangible assets, driven partly by lower volumes in implants and equipment. This shows the challenge of integrating high-growth, new-market segments into a mature business.
• The 2025 Leadership Reset. The company continues to navigate a complex environment, evidenced by the leadership transition in August 2025, where Dan Scavilla was appointed CEO and Matt Garth became CFO. This move signals a focus on operational stability and financial discipline as the company works to deliver on its adjusted EPS outlook of $1.80 to $2.00 for the fiscal year 2025.

For a deeper dive into how these historical moves impact the balance sheet today, you should check out Breaking Down DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) Ownership Structure

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) operates with a widely held ownership structure, meaning its stock is distributed among a diverse base of institutional, insider, and public investors, reflecting its status as a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ. This governance model gives significant weight to institutional shareholders, who collectively hold the vast majority of the company's equity and influence strategic decisions.

Given Company's Current Status

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. is a publicly traded company, listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol XRAY. Being public means the company is subject to the rigorous financial reporting and regulatory requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), providing transparency for investors like you. This status ensures a high degree of liquidity for its stock, but it also exposes the company to market volatility and the pressure of quarterly earnings performance.

The company is not controlled by a single private entity or family, but rather by the collective interests of its largest shareholders, which are primarily institutional investment firms. If you want to dig deeper into the company's core principles, you can review its Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY).

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

As of late 2025, the ownership distribution for DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. is heavily weighted toward institutional investors. This is typical for a large, established company in the healthcare technology space. Here's the quick math on who owns the shares:

The 85.96% institutional stake means that a small number of large investment firms and mutual funds have substantial influence on board elections and major corporate actions. For instance, a change in strategy at a firm like BlackRock, Inc. can defintely impact the stock price.

Given Company's Leadership

The executive team is currently navigating a period of financial restructuring and leadership transition, which is crucial for investors to understand. The key to the company's near-term execution lies with the CEO, who has taken on an expanded role as of November 2025.

• Daniel T. Scavilla: President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Director. He assumed the CEO role in August 2025 and, critically, is also serving as the Interim Principal Financial Officer effective November 5, 2025, following the departure of the previous CFO.
• Chief Financial Officer (CFO): The role is currently interim, with CEO Daniel T. Scavilla holding the principal financial officer duties while the company conducts a search for a permanent executive.
• Aldo M. Denti: Chief Commercial Officer. Appointed in October 2025, his focus is on driving the company's commercial strategy and sales execution.
• David Ferguson: Senior Vice President, Global Business Unit Leader. Appointed in March 2025, he steers the performance of a major operational division.

What this leadership structure tells you is that the CEO has consolidated financial and operational oversight in a challenging time, specifically after the former CFO, Matthew E. Garth, stepped down on November 5, 2025. This dual role is a near-term risk, but it also signals a clear mandate for the CEO to drive both strategy and financial discipline immediately.

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) Mission and Values

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. stands to transform dentistry globally, moving beyond mere product sales to empower dental professionals with the tools for better patient outcomes. This commitment is rooted in core values that prioritize integrity and a relentless focus on the customer.

You can see this DNA in their strategic focus on digital solutions, which is defintely where the industry is moving. For more on the market dynamics, you should be Exploring DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

DENTSPLY SIRONA's Core Purpose

The company's purpose is to improve oral health worldwide, which translates into a business model focused on innovation and partnership. This is a crucial distinction from simply being a manufacturer; they aim to be an essential partner in care delivery.

Here's the quick math on their scale: their revised 2025 outlook projects reported sales in the range of $3.60 billion to $3.70 billion, showing a massive global footprint that helps them drive that purpose.

Official mission statement

The formal mission statement cuts straight to the action, focusing on the direct benefit they provide to their professional customers.

• We empower dental professionals to provide better, safer, faster dentistry.

This mission is supported by a clear operational focus:

• Driving innovation to continuously develop new solutions.
• Working closely with dental professionals to meet their specific needs.
• Improving oral health outcomes for patients globally.

Vision statement

While a single, concise phrase for their vision isn't always explicitly published, their actions and strategic goals point to a clear long-term aspiration: to lead the dental industry's digital transformation.

The company's vision is centered on improving oral health and continence care globally, leveraging their position as the world's largest diversified manufacturer of professional dental products.

What this estimate hides is the operational effort behind their adjusted EPS guidance of $1.60 per share for fiscal year 2025, which requires intense focus on efficiency to match their ambitious vision.

DENTSPLY SIRONA slogan/tagline

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. does not rely on a single, universally promoted slogan or tagline to capture its brand identity. Instead, the company emphasizes its core values and mission in its communications.

Their focus is on the concrete value proposition-delivering high-quality, effective, and connected solutions-rather than a catchy phrase.

The core values that underpin everything they do are:

• Integrity: Acting ethically and transparently.
• Customer Focus: Centering efforts on professional and patient needs.
• Superior Results: Driving performance and innovation.

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) How It Works

DENTSPLY SIRONA operates as the world's largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies, delivering a comprehensive ecosystem of integrated hardware, consumables, and software to dental professionals globally. The company makes money by selling high-margin consumables (like restoratives and endodontic files), high-ticket capital equipment (like scanners and imaging systems), and recurring subscription services through its cloud-based DS Core platform.

DENTSPLY SIRONA's Product/Service Portfolio

DENTSPLY SIRONA's Operational Framework

The company's operational model is shifting from a collection of product lines to a unified, digital-first ecosystem, which they call Connected Dentistry. This is the engine for value creation, connecting high-end capital equipment with recurring consumable sales.

• Manufacturing & Distribution: DENTSPLY SIRONA operates a global supply chain, manufacturing equipment in places like Germany and consumables in the U.S. and Europe, distributing through a mix of direct sales and dealer partners.
• Digital Integration (DS Core): The DS Core platform is the operational hub, centralizing patient data, imaging, diagnostics, and lab collaboration. This cloud-based approach is replacing older systems like Connect Case Center by November 15, 2025.
• Value Creation Loop: Selling a high-capital item like a Primescan 2 scanner or a CEREC system creates a long-term revenue stream from consumables (like milling blocks and restorative materials) and subscription fees for the DS Core software.
• Operational Restructuring: The current 'Return-to-Growth' action plan includes combining customer service and technical service into a single, globally led team. This is a clear move to improve the customer experience and defintely strengthen coordination with dealer partners.

The core idea is simple: make the digital workflow so seamless that dentists use DENTSPLY SIRONA products for every step.

DENTSPLY SIRONA's Strategic Advantages

The company's competitive edge rests on its sheer scale, its integrated portfolio, and a renewed focus on innovation despite near-term headwinds like soft U.S. demand and tariff impacts, which are estimated to be an annualized gross headwind of around $80 million.

• Integrated Ecosystem: No other competitor offers the breadth of products, from imaging and CAD/CAM to endodontics and implants, all linked by a single cloud platform (DS Core). This integration locks in the customer.
• Brand Power and R&D: Established brands like CEREC and WaveOne Gold carry immense trust. The company is accelerating R&D investments, which is crucial for maintaining a lead in AI-powered tools and digital workflows.
• Continence Care Anchor: The Wellspect Healthcare unit provides a stable, growing revenue stream in a non-dental sector, with mid-single-digit growth in 2024, acting as a strong cash flow generator outside the cyclical dental equipment market.
• Global Footprint: A truly global presence helps to offset regional weakness; for example, European sales were up 9.9% as reported in Q3 2025, partially mitigating a U.S. sales decline of 22.2%.

If you want a deeper dive into the company's long-term vision, you can read the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY).

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) How It Makes Money

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. primarily makes money by manufacturing and selling a vast portfolio of professional dental products, from high-value capital equipment like digital imaging and CAD/CAM systems to recurring revenue consumables such as endodontic files and restorative materials, plus a growing segment in specialized healthcare products.

You're looking for where the cash engine is, and the simple answer is it's a mix of big-ticket equipment sales that drive adoption and the constant, high-margin replenishment of consumables that follows.

DENTSPLY SIRONA's Revenue Breakdown

As of the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), DENTSPLY SIRONA reported net sales of $904 million, which breaks down across its core segments. Here's the quick math on the major revenue streams, showing where the sales volume is concentrated and the current trend in constant currency (cc) terms.

The Essential Dental Solutions segment, which includes high-margin consumables and endodontics, remains the largest revenue driver, accounting for nearly 40% of sales in Q3 2025.

The Wellspect Healthcare segment, which focuses on continence and surgical solutions, is a smaller but critical growth engine, contributing approximately 9.2% of Q3 sales and showing a strong constant currency growth of +9.3%.

Business Economics

The core business model relies on a razor-and-blade strategy, though it's more complex in practice: sell the high-tech razor (a CEREC CAD/CAM system or an imaging unit from the CTS segment) to lock in the customer, and then earn recurring, high-margin revenue from the consumables (the blades) in the EDS segment, like restorative materials and endodontic files.

• Pricing Strategy: The company has demonstrated a commitment to maintaining stable pricing on key specialty products, such as its Endodontic products (like TruNatomy and WaveOne Gold) and SureSmile clear aligners, even while navigating significant tariff impacts. This stability is a strategic move to preserve customer loyalty and volume despite external cost pressures.
• Digital Ecosystem: The DS Core platform is a crucial economic lever, acting as a cloud-based hub that connects the entire portfolio-from digital impression scanners (CTS) to lab production-which increases the stickiness of the product ecosystem. Once a dentist is on the platform, switching costs rise.
• Near-Term Headwinds: The company is facing significant volume pressure, particularly in the U.S. and in the Orthodontic and Implant Solutions segment, which led to a substantial non-cash impairment of goodwill and intangible assets in Q3 2025. This signals that the high-value equipment and implant sales cycle is currently stressed by macroeconomic factors and competitive pressures.

DENTSPLY SIRONA's Financial Performance

The financial picture for 2025 reflects a business undergoing a significant 'Return-to-Growth' action plan amidst a challenging environment, particularly in the U.S. market.

• Full-Year Sales Outlook: The company has guided for full-year 2025 net sales to be in the range of $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion. This is a decrease in constant currency terms, reflecting the sales weakness seen through the first three quarters.
• Profitability Metrics: The Q3 2025 GAAP net loss was a significant ($427) million, primarily driven by a $263 million non-cash impairment charge related to goodwill and intangibles in the OIS and CTS segments. Adjusted for these one-time items, the Adjusted Gross Margin was a more solid 52.6%, and the Adjusted EBITDA margin was 18.4%.
• Earnings and Cash Flow: Q3 2025 Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS) came in at $0.37, a drop from the prior year. Operating cash flow for the quarter was $79 million, a sharp decline from the prior year, highlighting the working capital challenges.
• Forward-Looking Earnings: The revised full-year 2025 Adjusted EPS outlook is approximately $1.60, down from earlier guidance, which is a defintely a key metric for investors to watch.

For a deeper dive into the institutional money moving in and out of the stock, you should check out Exploring DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) Market Position & Future Outlook

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. is a global leader in the dental equipment and consumables market, currently navigating a strategic turnaround to stabilize its market position, which is anchored by its vast product portfolio and integrated digital ecosystem. The company's 2025 outlook projects net sales between $3.6 billion and $3.7 billion, reflecting a cautious but deliberate shift toward profitable growth after a period of underperformance, especially in the U.S..

Competitive Landscape

In the broad, fragmented dental equipment and supplies market, DENTSPLY SIRONA competes across multiple segments, from consumables to high-tech CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing) systems. While an exact consolidated market share is complex to pin down, the company is a Tier 1 player, particularly in imaging and equipment, but faces intense pressure from specialists like Align Technology in the clear aligner space.

Opportunities & Challenges

You're looking at a classic turnaround story here, where the upside is tied directly to execution on the 'Return-to-Growth' plan, but the risks are defintely real and immediate. The company is accelerating R&D investment to 7% of revenue, a significant jump from the previous 4-5%, which signals a serious commitment to innovation.

Industry Position

DENTSPLY SIRONA holds a unique position as a full-service provider, offering products from basic consumables to advanced imaging and chairside CAD/CAM systems (Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing). This comprehensive portfolio is its core competitive advantage, allowing it to equip an entire dental practice.

The company is prioritizing its digital ecosystem, DS Core, which connects its equipment, software, and services. This is a smart move because it locks customers into a high-value, integrated workflow, making it harder for competitors to chip away at individual product lines.

• Targeting an improved operating margin beyond 19% by streamlining operations and reducing Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses to about 30% of revenue.
• The 'Return-to-Growth' plan, initiated with leadership changes in late 2025, aims for sustained profitable growth over the next 24 months.
• Strong performance from the non-dental Wellspect Healthcare business, which contributed 40% of the company's free cash flow in a recent period, provides financial stability during the dental segment's turnaround.

For a deeper dive into the numbers underpinning this turnaround, you should read Breaking Down DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors. Here's the quick math: achieving the adjusted EPS target of approximately $1.60 for 2025 will depend heavily on cost discipline offsetting the top-line decline.