Abbott Laboratories stock rose 8% Wednesday and was the second biggest gainer on the S&P 500 index, after the diagnostics and medical-device company beat earnings estimates for the first quarter. As expected, declining sales of COVID tests were a feature in the release and on the company’s earnings call with analysts. Global COVID testing-related sales fell to $730 million in the quarter from $3.304 billion a year ago.
Still, the company’s overall sales of $9.747 billion were ahead of the $9.666 billion FactSet consensus. Sales stood at $11.895 billion a year ago. The company posted net income of $1.318 billion, or 75 cents a share, down from $2.447 billion, or $1.37 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.03, ahead of the 99 cent FactSet consensus. Abbott
ABT,
+7.78%
is now expecting 2023 adjusted EPS of $4.30 to $4.50, which wraps around the $4.39 FactSet consensus. That’s despite a reduction in COVID test expectations to about 1.5 billion for the year from $2.0 billion as recently as January. See now: Johnson & Johnson swings to loss as it books multibillion-dollar charge to settle talc claims Chief Executive Robert Ford told analysts on the company’s earnings call that the impact of COVID “has rapidly and significan …
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