What Management Said
Read the full Q1 2026 transcript ↗These non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled with the comparable GAAP financial measures in our earnings news release and regulatory filings from today, which are available on our website at abbott.com. This quarter also marked an important strategic milestone for Abbott with the completion of our acquisition of Exact Sciences. This acquisition adds a new high-growth business to the Abbott portfolio, further strengthening our leadership position in diagnostics and expanding our presence into one of the fastest-growing areas of healthcare, cancer diagnostics. As we communicated at the time of the acquisition announcement, we forecast the addition of Exact Sciences to add approximately $3 billion of incremental sales in 2026 and accelerate Abbott's long-term sales growth rate.
Growth of 3% was driven by growth in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. In our rapid and molecular diagnostics business, sales declined 10%, reflecting lower demand for respiratory virus testing due to a much weaker respiratory season compared to last year. In cancer diagnostics, sales grew 13% on a comparable basis, driven by mid-teens growth of Cologuard and high teens growth in international markets. While we are still early in the transition back toward a more sustainable balance between price and volume-driven growth, I am encouraged by the progress we're making.
Early data indicates we are seeing the intended effect, with volume growth beginning to follow our pricing actions. We continue to expect that these pricing actions, combined with the launch of several new products, will result in growth improving over the course of the year. Growth was broad-based across the markets we serve, which included double-digit growth in several countries across Latin America and Asia Pacific regions. Demand in these markets continues to be supported by favorable long-term healthcare, economic, and demographic trends.
What went well
- Adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 came in consistent with guidance and grew 6% versus the prior year, despite absorbing earlier-than-planned Exact Sciences financing costs and a weaker respiratory season.
- Abbott completed its acquisition of Exact Sciences on March 23, 2026, adding a high-growth cancer diagnostics business expected to contribute roughly $3 billion of incremental sales in 2026.
- Medical devices sales grew 8.5%, led by double-digit growth in electrophysiology (13%), heart failure (12%), and rhythm management (13%, the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth).
- Electrophysiology benefited from two pulsed field ablation catheter launches, with the Volt PFA catheter driving 14% U.S. growth and the TactiFlex Duo helping drive mid-teens growth in Europe.
- EPD pharmaceuticals grew 9%, with broad-based double-digit growth across several Latin America and Asia Pacific countries.
- Cancer diagnostics grew 13% on a comparable basis, driven by mid-teens Cologuard growth and high-teens international growth.
What went wrong
- Rapid and molecular diagnostics sales declined 10%, reflecting lower respiratory virus testing demand from a much weaker respiratory season than the prior year.
- Continuous glucose monitoring grew 7.5% to $2 billion, held back by a delayed international tender renewal and a challenging comparison to prior-year shelf restocking dynamics.
- The full-year adjusted EPS guidance midpoint was lowered from $5.68 to $5.48, reflecting $0.20 of dilution from the Exact Sciences acquisition.
- Structural heart faced increased competitive intensity in the mitral space and U.S. execution challenges, prompting leadership changes; management said the U.S. commercial team needs to improve.
- Nutrition sales reflected lower volumes versus the prior year and the impact of Q4 2025 strategic pricing actions, with the volume recovery still early.
Guidance Changes
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Comparable sales growth | FY2026 | 6.5%-7.5% (now comparable basis, including full-year Exact Sciences in both years) (Basis changed to comparable) |
| Adjusted EPS (midpoint) | FY2026 | $5.48 (-$0.20 (Exact Sciences dilution)) |
| Adjusted EPS | Q2 2026 | $1.25-$1.31 (New) |
| FX impact on reported sales | FY2026 | Approximately +1% favorable (New) |
| FX impact on sales | Q2 2026 | Relatively neutral (New) |
Performance Breakdown
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total sales (comparable) | +3.7% | Aligned with expectations to start the year; FX added a favorable 4% year-over-year impact. |
| Core Lab Diagnostics | +3% (comparable) | Growth driven by the U.S., Europe, and Latin America; China sales were flat versus 15%-30% declines per quarter last year as VBP headwinds lapped. |
| Rapid and molecular diagnostics | -10% | Lower respiratory virus testing demand due to a much weaker respiratory season versus last year. |
| Cancer diagnostics | +13% (comparable) | Mid-teens Cologuard growth plus high-teens growth in international markets. |
| EPD (pharmaceuticals) | +9% | Broad-based growth including double-digit gains across several Latin America and Asia Pacific markets. |
| Medical devices | +8.5% | Strong cardiovascular performance, including double-digit electrophysiology, heart failure, and rhythm management growth. |
| Continuous glucose monitoring | +7.5% | Impacted by a delayed international tender renewal and a tough comparison to prior-year first-half shelf restocking. |
| Adjusted EPS | +6% | Consistent with guidance despite earlier-than-planned Exact Sciences financing costs and a weak respiratory season. |
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exact Sciences acquisition and integration | — | Closed March 23, 2026; reported within Diagnostics but operating standalone under Jake Orville; adds ~$3 billion of 2026 sales and is performing well | Rising |
| Second-half growth acceleration | — | Management remains confident in H2 acceleration driven by nutrition strategy, EP and Core Lab recovery, and EPD/device strength | Steady |
| Nutrition pricing-to-volume transition | Pricing actions taken in Q4 2025 | Early signs of volume growth following price resets (e.g., Ensure); recovery underway but still early | Rising |
| CGM market opportunity and catalysts | — | Management bullish on a 70-80 million-person TAM (~$30-$35 billion); catalysts include type 2 non-insulin reimbursement, international coverage, and the dual analyte system expected in H2 | Rising |
| China Core Lab VBP headwind | ~$1 billion headwind last year with 15%-30% quarterly declines | China Core Lab flat in Q1; ~80% of portfolio has gone through VBP; modeled at single-digit decline for the year | Declining |
| Electrophysiology PFA launches | — | Volt (U.S.) and TactiFlex Duo (Europe) in limited market release with favorable feedback; expected to grow faster than the mid-to-high-teens market by year exit | Rising |
Q&A Summary
Goldman Sachs (David Roman): What is the guidance philosophy behind the revised outlook, and does it fully de-risk while capturing upside and downside?
Ford said folding Exact Sciences into a comparable basis follows Abbott's past practice (COVID, St. Jude) to give investors a clean apples-to-apples view of the new portfolio. The revised guidance is somewhat conservative, notably not assuming Abbott makes up the weak respiratory season in Q4, since he would not know flu-season strength until just before Thanksgiving. The rest of the business is in line with the January outlook, driven by sustained med tech and pharma growth plus trajectory-changing diagnostics, nutrition, and Exact Sciences.
JPMorgan (Robbie Marcus): Adjusting out Exact Sciences and lost royalties, organic growth appears to decelerate; how much is one-time versus sustainable and where are the pressure points?
Ford said rolling Exact Sciences in on a comparable basis was chosen because the deal closed early in Q1, giving full visibility into the new Abbott. He reaffirmed confidence in device (low double digits) and pharma (above 7%) growth, acknowledged some businesses face market or competitive challenges, and stressed that the diversified portfolio as a whole is set up to meet financial commitments even if not every business beats expectations.
Wells Fargo (Larry Biegelsen): U.S. CGM prescription trends look weak; is the market saturated, and what is the timing for type 2 non-insulin, the dual ketone sensor, and the lactate sensor?
Ford cautioned against relying solely on U.S. weekly prescription data and remains very bullish, estimating a 70-80 million-person global TAM versus only 10-12 million today (~$30-$35 billion). He cited upcoming catalysts including type 2 non-insulin reimbursement (proposed language expected soon, adding ~10 million people), broader international basal coverage, and an expected dual analyte system approval in H2 2026 opening access to roughly a million pump patients and ~5 million SGLT2 users.
Evercore ISI (Vijay Kumar): What are the plans to sustain Cologuard growth and the international angle, and could there be guidance upside given Exact is growing faster?
Ford said integration is going very well under new leader Jake Orville and described the strategy as entering the broader cancer diagnostics space (screening, therapy selection, MRD), not a single-product deal. He cited sustainable Cologuard growth from under-penetration (50 million unscreened Americans), limited and shrinking colonoscopy capacity, 95% sensitivity, a strong rescreen business (~25% of tests, ~500,000 rescreens per year), care-gap/CMS star-rating programs, and international expansion opportunity.
Jefferies (Matthew Taylor): What are the trends in structural heart and left atrial appendage closure, including the impact of competitor and Abbott LAAC trials?
Ford explained Abbott moved its LAA closure device from structural heart into electrophysiology starting January 1, which accounts for much of the apparent disconnect versus street models. He acknowledged increased mitral competition and the need to improve U.S. execution (with leadership changes made), noted strong double-digit international growth across mitral, TriClip, and structural interventions, and reiterated expecting high-single-digit full-year structural heart growth while declining to react to a competitor's trial ahead of Abbott's CATALYST readout.
Citi (Joanne Wuensch): What are the potential impacts of the Middle East conflict on oil and resin costs, and what are you seeing in patient volumes and reimbursement?
Ford said it is too early to tell on oil costs, with no impact yet on costs or freight rates, and credited dedicated daily gross-margin-improvement teams for mitigation. The minimal Q1 impact was logistical (getting product into the region amid constrained shipping and air capacity), not a demand or reimbursement issue, prompting Abbott to hold somewhat more inventory in affiliate warehouses to avoid back orders.
More on Abbott Laboratories
Reported 2026-04-16 · figures from the Abbott Laboratories Q1 2026 earnings call.
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