Abbott Laboratories Exceed Wall Street Quarterly Profit Estimates

Abbott Laboratories has beat its quarterly profit estimates as announced on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The Chicago, Illinois-based company also raised the lower end of its annual forecast based on robust sales of its medical devices like glucose-monitoring products. 

Abbott Laboratories recently saw a rise in the demand for its medical devices, especially joint replacements and devices for surgeries delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its rival Johnson & Johnson said it expects the volume of procedures related to med-tech to remain higher than pre-COVID-19 levels throughout 2024.

Abbott Laboratories medical device sales hit $4.45 billion. Its glucose monitoring device, FreeStyle Libre (which is also the company’s biggest product), generated $1.5 billion out of that total amount. According to LSEG data, analysts had expected the company’s medical device sales to pull in $4.30 billion.

Abbott Laboratories saw a steep fall in COVID tests

FreeStyle Libre is used mostly by diabetes patients. Abbott Laboratories has a target of $10 billion in annual sales by 2028. The company’s quarterly revenue in its diagnostic segment dropped after a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although analysts estimated $2.23 billion in that segment, the company’s quarterly sales was $2.21 billion. The drop in sales was linked to a steep fall in demand for COVID tests. 

During the quarter under review, Abbott’s COVID-19 testing kit pulled in $204 million. However, the company did not provide an annual outlook. In total, Abbott recorded $9.96 billion in sales in the quarter which ended March 31. That was higher than the $9.88 billion projected by analysts.

Although analysts expect a profit of $4.60 per share, the company now expects its full-year profit of $4.55 to $4.70 per share, raising the lower end from $4.50 per share. Abbott Laboratories’ adjusted quarterly profit of 98 cents per share was higher than the 95 cents per share predicted by analysts.