Abbott Laboratories falls after setting Q3 outlook below consensus

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) lost ~5% in the premarket on Thursday after the MedTech company provided its guidance for the third quarter slightly below consensus following a mixed earnings report for Q2 2025.

While the North Chicago, Illinois-based healthcare giant estimated its adjusted diluted earnings per share for Q3 could reach $1.28 – $1.32 compared to $1.33 in the consensus, its full-year outlook for adj. EPS stood at $5.10 – $5.20, in line with $5.16 projected by analysts.

However, the company’s projection for 2025 organic sales growth at 6.0%–7.0%, including COVID-19 testing-related sales, fell short of the ~7.4% estimated by Wall Street analysts, according to Bloomberg data.

As for Q3 financials, Abbott (NYSE:ABT) reported $11.1B in revenue with ~7% YoY growth, exceeding the consensus by $80M amid a slight underperformance in its Diagnostics division, while other units outperformed.

ABT’s Diagnostics division generated ~$2.17B in sales with a ~1% YoY decline compared to $2.21B in the consensus, as the company’s COVID-19 testing-related sales fell ~16% YoY to $55M, missing the $63.5M mark projected by analysts.

Meanwhile, the company’s Medical devices and Nutrition segments added $5.37B and $2.21B to the topline with ~13% YoY and ~3% YoY growth compared to $5.23B and $2.24B in Street forecasts, respectively.

ABT’s diabetes products added $1.98B to the topline with ~20% YoY growth, exceeding the consensus of $1.93B as sales of continuous glucose monitors generated $1.9B with ~21% YoY growth.

The company recorded $1.38B in sales from its Established pharmaceuticals division with a ~7% YoY growth, while Street forecasts suggested it would record $1.37B in sales for the quarter.

ABT’s adjusted operating margin for the quarter improved 100 bps from a year ago to 22.9%, even as the company’s adj. earnings per share at $1.26 stood in line with the consensus despite ~11% YoY growth. The company projected its full-year adj. operating margin to reach nearly 23.5%.