The Zhitong Finance App learned that Abbott (ABT.US) raised its profit guidance for 2026 after experiencing a second quarter that exceeded expectations, mainly due to improvements in the performance of most of its business lines. According to financial reports, Abbott's second-quarter revenue was US$12.59 billion, up 13.0% year on year, exceeding market expectations; adjusted earnings per share were US$1.31, exceeding expectations of US$0.03.
The company said in a statement on Thursday that it currently expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $5.45 and $5.60 this year, an increase of 5 cents by the median; the company reiterated its forecast for same-store sales growth of 6.5% to 7.5% for the full year of 2026.
Abbott's medical device and diabetes business slightly exceeded Wall Street expectations. Its FreeStyle Libre 3 blood glucose sensor was revealed to be linked to more than 700 injuries and 7 deaths at the end of last year, after the device was discovered to provide incorrect readings.
The company is a major seller of infant formula and adult beverages, including protein drinks that help people fight the side effects of diet pills. Affected by declining sales volume and price adjustments implemented in the fourth quarter of 2025, the company's global nutrition sales fell about 3% year over year to US$2.14 billion, but it was still higher than analysts' forecast of US$2.12 billion. However, the impact was partially offset by the performance of other business units.
Abbott has previously been mired in lawsuits alleging that its infant formula may cause necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a serious intestinal disease affecting premature infants. Additionally, the botulinum outbreak has been plaguing startup milk powder manufacturing companies ByHeart Inc., and Nara Organics, which rose to prominence when Abbott formula was recalled in 2022 and caused a nationwide shortage.
However, after Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised questions about the safety of formula, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released news at the end of April that few heavy metals or pesticides were found in the US formula supply. This news boosted the confidence of formula manufacturers.
The diagnostic business unit contributed 3.1 billion US dollars in revenue, an increase of about 42% over the previous year, exceeding market expectations of 3 billion US dollars. This was mainly due to the contribution of 919 million US dollars from the cancer diagnosis business. In November of last year, Abbott agreed to buy cancer screening company Exact Sciences Corp., thereby obtaining tests such as Cologuard, which helps screen for colorectal cancer — the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the US.