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Abbott raises 2026 profit forecast on strength in diagnostics, heart devices

By Thomson Reuters Jul 16, 2026 | 6:33 AM

July 16 (Reuters) – Abbott beat estimates for quarterly results and raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday, banking on strong demand ​for its newly acquired cancer diagnostics ‌business, sending its shares up nearly 4% premarket.

Abbott said its cancer diagnostics business, which now includes recently acquired Exact Sciences’ flagship colorectal cancer screening test, Cologuard, and ‌breast ​cancer assay Oncotype DX, ⁠is helping offset ongoing ⁠declines in revenue from COVID-19 testing products.

Analysts and investors are closely watching medical device makers as companies with elective procedure exposure are ​expected to face pressure due to weaker surgical volumes and rising uninsured patient levels.

However, ⁠companies like Abbott, which focus ⁠on electrophysiology and structural heart procedures, ​are expected to remain relatively resilient.

Abbott’s quarterly sales ​in its medical devices segment grew 9% ‌to $5.85 billion, beating estimates of $5.82 billion, according to LSEG data.

Abbott’s Diabetes Care segment, which includes its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products like the FreeStyle ⁠Libre and Lingo, reported an 11% jump in sales to $2.19 billion.

The medical device maker reported quarterly adjusted profit ⁠per share ‌of $1.31, beating analysts’ estimate of $1.28.

Total ⁠revenue came in at $12.59 billion for ​the ‌second quarter, compared with expectations of $12.5 ​billion.

The company ⁠expects an adjusted profit in the range of $5.45 to $5.60 per share for 2026, compared with its previous forecast between $5.38 and $5.58 per share.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Maju Samuel)