Abbott Laboratories Reports Better-Than-Expected Q1 2023 Results and Reaffirms Full-Year EPS Guidance

According to the Zhisheng Finance APP, on April 19, before the US stock market opened, Abbott (ABT.US) announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2023. The earnings report showed that Abbott's Q1 revenue was $9.747 billion, higher than the market expectation of $9.636 billion, representing a year-on-year decrease of 18.1%. The decline in revenue was mainly due to the decrease in sales related to COVID-19 testing.

Net profit was $1.318 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 46.1%, higher than the market expectation of $1.196 billion; diluted earnings per share were $0.75, compared to $1.37 in the same period last year, surpassing the market expectation of $0.674. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.03, versus the market expectation of $0.99.

By business segment, Abbott's Q1 nutrition business revenue was $1.967 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%; diagnostic business revenue was $2.688 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 48.9%, including global COVID-19 test sales of $730 million, compared to $3.304 billion in the same period last year.

Generic drug sales were $1.89 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%; medical device business (Abbott's largest segment) sales were $3.90 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%, of which the revenue of the blood glucose monitoring device Freestyle Libre reached $1.2 billion.

Looking ahead, Abbott maintains its 2023 earnings per share guidance, expecting full-year GAAP diluted earnings per share of $3.05-$3.25; adjusted (excluding special items) diluted earnings per share of $4.30-$4.50, reflecting an increase in the underlying business outlook, offsetting the expected decline in revenue contribution from COVID-19 testing-related sales. Market expectation is $4.38. Organic sales growth for the full year 2023 (excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales) is projected to be at least in the high single digits, with approximately $1.5 billion in sales related to COVID-19 testing.

After the earnings report was released, as of press time, Abbott's stock price rose 2.07% in pre-market trading.