Abbott Laboratories (ABT) beat Wall Street’s second-quarter forecasts Thursday, but ABT stock dropped as sequential Covid testing demand plummeted.
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For the second quarter, Abbott reported $1.3 billion in global Covid testing sales, down roughly 41% from the first quarter. Excluding Covid testing sales, total sales grew 11% organically compared with pre-pandemic levels, Chief Executive Robert Ford said in a written statement.
Edward Jones analyst Ashtyn Evans noted Covid testing demand would remain a wild card for ABT stock in the near term.
“We believe testing demand will continue to be difficult to predict, and fluctuations in demand could impact Abbott’s full-year results,” she said in a report to clients. “We believe long-term growth will be driven by innovative new diabetes devices, heart devices and diagnostic products.”
In morning trading on the stock market today, ABT stock sank 1.9% near 116.80.
ABT Stock: Covid Testing Demand Falls
Overall, Abbott reported $10.2 billion in second-quarter sales, up 39.5% on a strict as-reported basis. Organically, sales jumped 35%. Sales beat forecasts for $9.69 billion.
Adjusted profit climbed more than 105% to $1.17 per share and topped expectations for $1.02.
All four of Abbott’s key segments experienced growth. Diagnostics led the way with sales increasing nearly 63% year over year, despite a sequential slowdown in Covid testing sales. Medical device sales also popped more than 51%. Going back and comparing with the same, pre-pandemic quarter in 2019, medical device sales were up 19.2% in 2021.
“We’re achieving very strong growth across our portfolio,” CEO Ford said. Organic growth compared to the same quarter in 2019 “demonstrates the fundamental strength of our performance.”
For the year, Abbott predicts adjusted profit of $4.30-$4.50 per share. ABT stock analysts called for adjusted profit of $4.36 per share and $39.39 billion in sales.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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