Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares surged on Thursday after the company posted a second-quarter earnings beat driven by strong demand for its medical devices as surgery volumes increase.
Its adjusted earnings per share of $1.08 topped the Street’s expectation of $1.05.
Year-over-year, the company’s reported sales decreased by 11.4% to $10 billion due to the anticipated decline in COVID-19 testing-related revenue.
However, medical devices revenue topped expectations of $4.1 billion coming in at $4.3 billion, while diagnostic sales were in line with expectations at $2.3 billion.
"We're achieving strong growth in our underlying base business," Abbott CEO Robert B. Ford said in a statement. "We expect our highly productive pipeline to sustain the momentum we're building this year and position us well for growth in the future."
The company’s full-year EPS guidance was unchanged at $4.30 to $4.50, with the improved outlook for its base business forecast to offset a lower contribution from COVID-19 testing-related sales.
Investors reacted positively to the earnings report, sending Abbott stock 4.2% higher to US$111.80 on Thursday afternoon.
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