Abbott Beats on Profit, Revenue Despite Virus Testing Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Abbott Laboratories posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit and revenue results, even as demand for its Covid-19 testing products dropped when U.S. virus cases ebbed in the spring.

• Revenue for the company’s Covid-19 testing products was $1.3 billion, plummeting from $2.2 billion in the first quarter.
• Adjusted earnings were $1.17 a share, the Abbott Park, Illinois-based company said Thursday in a statement, exceeding analysts’ average estimate of $1.02 per share. Revenue for the quarter was $10.2 billion, compared with $7.3 billion in the year-earlier period and beating the average estimate of $9.7 billion.

Key Insights

• Abbott, a major maker of medical devices, has seen demand rebound from broad declines during the pandemic in most kinds of routine medical care, reporting $3.7 billion in revenue for the unit this quarter. The company’s nutrition and established pharmaceutical businesses also grew, reporting $2.1 billion and $1.2 billion in sales, respectively.
• The company maintained its full-year profit guidance at between $4.30 and $4.50, the range it gave in June after an earlier prediction of at least $5 a share, due to plummeting demand for Covid tests. The spread of the delta variant could spark a renewed uptick in screening, however, as fellow testing company Quest Diagnostics Inc. said Wednesday its testing volumes had slightly increased in recent weeks after a period of decline.

Market Reaction

Abbott shares had climbed 8.7% so far this year through Wednesday’s close. In Thursday premarket trading, the stock was up about 0.4%.

Get More

See more financial details here.

Read the company’s news release here.

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