Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) announced a notable increase in its fourth-quarter profit, aligning with market expectations. However, the company provided a more conservative first-quarter outlook, falling short of Wall Street predictions. Additionally, Abbott presented an optimistic fiscal 2025 forecast, anticipating growth.
In pre-market trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Abbott shares declined by approximately 0.9%, trading at $115.72.
For the first quarter, Abbott anticipates adjusted earnings per share (EPS) in the range of $1.05 to $1.09. This is below the average Wall Street forecast, which stands at $1.12 per share, a figure that generally excludes any special items.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, Abbott forecasts adjusted EPS between $5.05 and $5.25. This projection suggests a double-digit growth at the midpoint compared to the previous year's adjusted EPS of $4.67. Analysts are expecting earnings of $5.16 per share for the upcoming fiscal year.
Abbott also envisions a full-year adjusted operating margin between 23.5% and 24.0% of sales, marking a 150 basis point improvement at the midpoint relative to 2024. The company expects organic sales growth will range from 7.5% to 8.5%.
For fiscal 2024, Abbott reported sales of $42.0 billion, with the core business achieving an organic sales growth of 9.6%.
In the fourth quarter, Abbott's net income surged to $9.229 billion or $5.27 per share, compared to $1.594 billion or $0.91 per share in the previous year. On an adjusted basis, earnings reached $2.349 billion or $1.34 per share, matching analyst expectations.
Revenue for the quarter grew by 7.2%, reaching $10.974 billion, up from $10.241 billion in the prior year. Analysts had anticipated sales of $11.03 billion. The company saw an 8.8% increase in organic sales, which climbed to 10.1% when excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales.
