Dentsply Sirona: CFO Resignation Raises Concern but Doesn't Alter Fundamental Strength

No-moat Dentsply Sirona announced on Aug. 20 that CFO Glenn Coleman will resign as of Nov. 7 to join another firm. Coleman joined Dentsply in September 2022 and helped the firm navigate the volatile covid and post-covid marketplace. News of his departure comes as a surprise; the timing seems unfavorable for Dentsply, which has recently been challenged by turbulent consumer sentiment and a tough macro environment. The stock is currently trading about 5% below the Aug. 19 close, which we think is driven by this abrupt announcement. As we wrote in the latest earnings note, we expect the second half of the year to see headwinds in price and volume across geographies as the difficult environment is likely to persist. We think a search for a new CFO on top of everything else is likely to raise concerns among investors.