Abbott Laboratories

An analyst at Evercore ISI questioned whether the performance of Abbott\'s Libre franchise is being hit by a recent FDA recall. \n Abbott Laboratories saw its shares down 10% at the end of trading Thursday, Jan. 22, as the market digested weaknesses from its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report.Overall, fourth-quarter sales were up 4.4% year over year to $11.45 billion on a reported basis, while full-year 2025 revenue hit $44.3 billion, up 5.7% on a reported basis. But those top-line figures belie several issues.Within the company, Abbott\'s nutrition business was a major drag, with fourth-quarter sales down 8.9% worldwide to $1.94 billion and down more than 13% in the U.S., with pediatric sales down 18% in the U.S.On a call with investors Thursday, CEO Robert Ford said “the U.S. pediatric business is seeing an impact from market share loss partly due to the loss of a large WIC [U.S. government] contract last year.”The results “underscore a broader challenge, which is the need to reignite volume growth, a challenge many consumer goods businesses face today,” the CEO said.This, he explained, is related to the rise in manufacturing costs in nutrition, “in part due to a post-pandemic driven surge in commodity costs that remains in our cost base today.”  “We\'ve increased prices to help mitigate the impact of higher manufacturing costs, but those price increases in the current economic environment have become a factor in constraining volume growth,” the CEO said.In Abbott\'s global diagnostics unit, fourth-quarter sales hit $2.45 billion, down 2.5%, though this was just down 0.2% when excluding COVID testing products. Global core laboratory diagnostics sales remained a bright spot as they did in the previous quarter, growing in the fourth quarter by 5.3%, though this “was partially offset by challenging market conditions in China,” the company said.The rapid diagnostics division was down 17.85% for the quarter with sales of $697 million, with the result driven by a “weak flu season,” according to a note from Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar. For the full year, total global diagnostics sales fell 4.3% to $8.93 billion.In diabetes care, sales of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) grew 12% in the fourth quarter and 17% for the year. “Our success in CGM continues to be driven by strong underlying market fundamentals, a leading position in cost and scale, and an unwavering commitment to market-leading innovation,” Philip Boudreau, Abbott’s chief financial officer, said on the call.But there are issues here too. In his note to clients, Evercore ISI\'s Kumar wrote that Abbott\'s Libre CGM franchise appeared to be hit by a “slowdown” during the quarter. In the third quarter, the franchise posted 17% growth, the analyst pointed out, so the fourth-quarter numbers led Kumar to wonder whether Abbott was seeing an “impact from [the] recall?” in November, Abbott launched an effort to replace some of its FreeStyle Libre 3 CGMs—following reports of hundreds of injuries and seven deaths worldwide—after some sensors showed they may provide incorrect readings that could prompt users to skip insulin doses.Libre falls within Abbott’s medical devices segment, which saw fourth-quarter sales hit $5.67 billion, up 12.3% year over year. This business also includes products in electrophysiology, rhythm management, heart failure and structural heart, which all grew sales during the period.Full-year sales for the segment were up 12.6% to $21.38 billion.Evercore ISI\'s Kumar said Abbott’s issues were “company specific and should not be a readthrough for Medtech.”

Fourth-quarter GAAP diluted EPS of $1.01; adjusted diluted EPS of $1.50 reflects growth of 12 percent Full-year 2025 GAAP diluted EPS of $3.72; adjusted diluted EPS of $5.15 reflects growth of 10 percent Abbott projects full-year 2026 organic sales growth to be in the range of 6.5% to 7.5% Abbott projects full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $5.55 to $5.80, which reflects 10 percent growth at the midpoint ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Jan. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025. Fourth-quarter sales increased 4.4 percent on a reported basis, 3.0 percent on an organic basis, or 3.8 percent when excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales1. Fourth-quarter GAAP diluted EPS of $1.01 and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.50, which excludes specified items and reflects growth of 12 percent. Full-year 2025 sales of $44.3 billion increased 5.7 percent on a reported basis, 5.5 percent on an organic basis, or 6.7 percent when excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales2. Full-year 2025 GAAP diluted EPS of $3.72 and adjusted diluted EPS of $5.15, which excludes specified items and reflects growth of 10 percent. Abbott projects full-year 2026 organic sales growth to be in the range of 6.5% to 7.5%. Abbott projects full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $5.55 to $5.80, which reflects growth of 10 percent at the midpoint. In November, Abbott announced an agreement to acquire Exact Sciences, a move that will position the company to enter and lead in the fast-growing cancer diagnostics market. Abbott continues to expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2026. Abbott expanded its leadership in Electrophysiology with two significant regulatory approvals: In December, Abbott announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Volt™ PFA System, bringing Abbott's first pulsed field ablation (PFA) offering to patients in the United States. In January, Abbott announced the company obtained CE Mark for its TactiFlex™ Duo Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled™, designed to deliver radiofrequency (RF) and PFA energy to treat patients battling atrial fibrillation. "In 2025, we expanded margins and achieved double-digit earnings per share growth, our new product pipeline was highly productive, and we took important strategic steps to shape the company for the future," said Robert B. Ford, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "We're well positioned for accelerating growth in 2026." FOURTH-QUARTER BUSINESS OVERVIEW Management believes that measuring sales growth rates on an organic basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange and the impact of discontinuing the ZonePerfect® product line in the Nutrition business, is an appropriate way for investors to best understand the core underlying performance of the business. Management further believes that measuring sales growth rates on an organic basis excluding COVID-19 tests is an appropriate way for investors to best understand the underlying performance of the company as the demand for COVID-19 tests has significantly declined following the transition from a pandemic to endemic phase. Note: In order to compute results excluding the impact of exchange rates, current year U.S. dollar sales are multiplied or divided, as appropriate, by the current year average foreign exchange rates and then those amounts are multiplied or divided, as appropriate, by the prior year average foreign exchange rates. Refer to table titled "Non-GAAP Revenue Reconciliation" for a reconciliation of adjusted historical revenue to reported revenue. Worldwide Nutrition sales decreased 8.9 percent on a reported basis and 9.1 percent on an organic basis in the fourth quarter. Results in the quarter reflect the impact of lower sales volumes compared to the prior year and new strategic price actions targeted to increase volume growth in the future. In addition to these strategic price actions, Abbott expects to increase volume growth with the launch of several new products in 2026. Global Diagnostics sales decreased 2.5 percent on a reported basis, decreased 3.6 percent on an organic basis, and decreased 0.2 percent when excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales1. COVID-19 testing-related sales were $89 million in the quarter, compared to $176 million in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Global Core Laboratory Diagnostics sales increased 5.3 percent on a reported basis and increased 3.6 percent on an organic basis. Growth in other geographies was partially offset by challenging market conditions in China, including the impact of volume-based procurement programs. Established Pharmaceuticals sales increased 9.0 percent on a reported basis and 7.0 percent on an organic basis in the fourth quarter. Key Emerging Markets include several emerging countries that represent the most attractive long-term growth opportunities for Abbott's branded generics product portfolio. Sales in these geographies increased 10.3 percent on a reported basis and 8.7 percent on an organic basis, led by double-digit growth in India and several countries across Latin America and the Middle East. Worldwide Medical Devices sales increased 12.3 percent on a reported basis and 10.4 percent on an organic basis in the fourth quarter. Sales growth in the quarter was led by double-digit growth in Electrophysiology, Heart Failure, Diabetes Care, and Rhythm Management. In Diabetes Care, sales of continuous glucose monitors were $2.0 billion and grew 15.0 percent on a reported basis and 12.2 percent on an organic basis. ABBOTT'S FINANCIAL GUIDANCE Abbott projects full-year 2026 organic sales growth to be in the range of 6.5% to 7.5%. Abbott projects full-year 2026 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $5.55 to $5.80 and first-quarter 2026 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.12 to $1.18. Abbott has not provided the related GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis for these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures because the company is unable to predict with reasonable certainty and without unreasonable effort the timing and impact of certain items such as restructuring and cost reduction initiatives, charges for intangible asset impairments, acquisition-related expenses, and foreign exchange, which could significantly impact Abbott's results in accordance with GAAP. ABBOTT DECLARES 408th CONSECUTIVE QUARTERLY DIVIDEND On Dec. 12, 2025, the board of directors of Abbott declared the company's quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share. Abbott's cash dividend is payable Feb. 13, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 15, 2026. Abbott has increased its dividend payout for 54 consecutive years and is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. About Abbott: Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 115,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries. Connect with us at and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. Abbott will live-webcast its fourth-quarter earnings conference call through its Investor Relations website at at 8 a.m. Central time today. An archived edition of the webcast will be available later in the day. — Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 — A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, and are incorporated herein by reference. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law. Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $422 million and other net expenses of $306 million associated with restructuring actions, legal reserves, acquisitions, and other net expenses. See table titled "Details of Specified Items" for additional details regarding specified items. Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $465 million and other net expenses of $268 million associated with restructuring actions, acquisitions and other net expenses. See table titled "Details of Specified Items" for additional details regarding specified items. Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $1.682 billion and other net expenses of $614 million associated with restructuring actions, legal reserves, acquisitions, investment impairment charges, and other net expenses. See table titled "Details of Specified Items" for additional details regarding specified items. Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $1.878 billion and other net expenses of $755 million associated with intangible impairments, restructuring actions, acquisitions, a divestiture and other net expenses. See table titled "Details of Specified Items" for additional details regarding specified items. A reconciliation of the fourth-quarter tax rates for 2025 and 2024 is shown below: A reconciliation of the year-to-date tax rates for 2025 and 2024 is shown below: SOURCE Abbott 21% more press release views with Request a Demo

The story coming out of Abbott Laboratories for 4Q25 was less than stellar. The Abbott Park, IL-based company saw its shares trade down as much as 10% after missing sales estimates by 3%. The softness in sales came mostly from the company’s nutrition segment. However, there were some bright spots in the earnings. The company reported total revenue of approximately $11.5 billion for 4Q25; however, this fell short of consensus estimates of $11.8 billion. Abbott saw its medical device sales grow by 10% in the quarter, with pulsed-field ablation and diabetes offerings pushing it forward. Abbott is facing intense competition in both of these markets. In PFA, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, and Medtronic are gobbling up share. Abbott Chairman, CEO, and President Robert Ford said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of the call, “In electrophysiology, sales grew double digits in the U.S. and internationally.  In December, we announced FDA approval of our Volt PFA catheter , which represents our first PFA product offering in the United States.” Sales of Continuous Glucose Monitors grew by about 12.2%. However, BTIG analyst Marie Thibault noted the company experienced lighter-than-expected Libre sales of $2 billion. The CGM market, while rapidly growing, is highly competitive. Abbott is facing intense pressure in the space from Dexcom, as both launched over-the-counter CGM technology around the same time. “In Diabetes Care, sales of continuous glucose monitors grew 12% in the fourth quarter and 17% for the year, with sales in 2025 exceeding $7.5 billion,” Ford said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of the call. “This marks the third consecutive year that our CGM sales have grown by more than $1 billion. Our success in CGM continues to be driven by strong underlying market fundamentals, a leading position in cost and scale, and an unwavering commitment for market-leading innovation. These factors have led to a continued increase in adoption across all of the various user groups.” The report of the revenue miss follows Abbott announcing it would acquire Exact Sciences , a molecular diagnostics company that specializes in the detection of early-stage cancers. “Our announced acquisition of Exact Sciences will allow Abbott to enter and lead in the fast-growing cancer diagnostics market and adds a new high-growth business with an attractive pipeline to the Abbott portfolio,” Ford said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of the call. In a research note, William Blair Analyst Andrew Brackman wrote, “Overall, this was not a clean update, with the latest hiccup in nutrition following a revenue guide down in the second quarter and an acquisition of Exact Sciences, which has received mixed feedback from certain investors. This makes the Abbott story less clean than investors are used to.” Marie Thibault, a BTIG analyst, wrote, “We understand the reaction, as nearly all segments underperformed Q4 expectations, the devices business was not the bright spot it typically is, and the 2026 sales guide was below consensus. Much of this is related to the Nutrition segment, where Abbott called out disappointing consumer demand and volumes as a result of pricing that had been increasing in recent years. The company is reducing its prices, using promotions, and will release new products this year, but 1H26 is expected to remain weak for Nutrition.” Thibault added, “In Devices, we think the minor miss this quarter will keep investors focused on the health of the underlying Medtech market. Abbott management emphasized that Q4 volumes were 'really good' across all categories.”