Emily Dattilo
Abbott Laboratories delivered a strong first quarter and lifted guidance for the year, but second-quarter guidance disappointed.
For its first quarter, the maker of healthcare products filed adjusted earnings per share of 98 cents, beating Wall Street's consensus estimate for 95 cents, according to FactSet. Sales of $9.96 billion topped analysts' forecast for $9.88 billion.
Abbott shares were off 3.9% to $104.79 in Wednesday morning trading, while the S&P 500 was up 0.3%.
The company raised guidance for 2024, and now expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $4.55 to $4.70, up from a prior call for $4.50 to $4.70. The new midpoint of $4.63 is just above the analyst forecast for $4.62. Abbott also expects organic sales growth, excluding Covid-19 testing-related sales, of 8.5% to 10%, compared with an earlier forecast for 8% to 10% growth.
For the second quarter, Abbott expects adjusted earnings per share of $1.08 to $1.12, and the midpoint is below the $1.12 analysts had penciled.
"Our first-quarter results reflect a strong start to the year, and we are raising our full-year sales and EPS guidance," said CEO Robert Ford in the earnings release. "This was the fifth consecutive quarter that we delivered double-digit organic sales growth in our underlying base business, which included particularly strong results in Medical Devices and Established Pharmaceuticals."
Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com
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April 17, 2024 09:54 ET (13:54 GMT)
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