Abbott earnings preview: Pharma, medical devices to drive Q4 results

Healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is expected to post upbeat results for the fourth quarter on Wednesday before the bell, despite the rising currency headwinds. Investors predicted the segments Medical Devices, Established Pharmaceuticals, and Diagnostics as well as Nutrition segment to yield greater return during the quarter.

The company’s new product pipeline is likely to continue achieving high productive and strong growth trends for the fourth quarter. Abbott is investing consistently in its research and development for bringing out new and innovative products as being a leader in the medical equipment industry.

Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.81 per share on revenue of $7.82 billion for the fourth quarter. In comparison, during the previous year quarter, the company posted a profit of $0.74 per share on revenue of $7.59 billion. Majority of the analysts recommended a “strong buy” or “buy” rating while expecting the stock to reach $79.47 in the next 52 weeks.

Related: Abbott Q3 2018 Earnings Call Transcript

Abbott has been going strong on the Medical Devices business driven by the strong sub-segment performance. The sub-segment comprised of the Diabetes Care, the new Cardiovascular and Neuromodulation, Rhythm Management, Electrophysiology, Heart Failure, Structural Heart, and Vascular businesses. The growth is likely to be in the high single-digit range for the Medical Devices segment.

Over the past few quarters, the company has experienced an increase in the Diabetes Care business. Its flagship, FreeStyle Libre System, which is a sensor-based continuous glucose monitoring system, has been on the limelight in the International Sales growth during the previous quarter. It is expected that the FreeStyle Libre will show its gaining momentum in the fourth quarter.

Abbott posts strong Q3 results, narrows full year outlook

The company’s peers Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported a 1% rise in sales helped by higher domestic sales and a marginal rise in international sales. While both Medical and Consumer segments saw a slowdown in sales, the Pharmaceuticals segment helped Johnson & Johnson see the quarter through with a 5.3% sales growth.

Additionally, its other competitors to the likes of Boston Scientific (BSX) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) are expected to post earnings growth of 8.8% and 24.5% respectively for their upcoming quarter releases.

Shares of Abbott opened lower on Tuesday and is trading in the red territory. The stock has risen over 20% in the past year and over 5% in the past three months.

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