Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares rose after the healthcare technology company posted a third quarter earnings beat and provided strong full-year guidance.
While revenue decreased 2.8% year-over-year to $10.1 billion due to the expected decline in COVID-19 testing-related sales, it topped Street expectations of $9.8 billion.
Global COVID-19 testing sales were $305 million in 3Q compared to $1.67 billion in the year-ago quarter.
This was offset by a strong performance of other business units, notably strong medical device sales, which rose 16.6% year-over-year to $4.25 billion, led by double-digit organic growth in Diabetes Care, Electrophysiology, Structural Heart and Neuromodulation.
Analysts had expected medical device sales of $4.16 billion.
Earnings per share (EPS) excluding certain items also came in ahead of analysts’ forecasts of $1.10 at $1.14.
Looking ahead, Abbott said it continues to project full-year 2023 organic sales growth, excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, to be a low double-digit percentage.
It now projects adjusted EPS of $4.42 to $4.46, representing an increase at the midpoint of the guidance range.
"The investments we made during the pandemic continue to drive broad-based growth across our underlying base business," Abbott CEO Robert Ford said in a statement.
"We're on track to deliver on the financial commitments we set at the beginning of the year, and the momentum we're building across the portfolio positions us well as we head into 2024."
Abbott shares had gained 3% at US$94.95 in early trade on Wednesday.
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