Abbott narrows its 2026 adjusted EPS range to $5.50 to $5.55 after sales rise 14.5 percent

Fourteen and a half percent. That is how much Abbott's third-quarter sales grew on a reported basis, to $13.0bn, according to its results release filed with the SEC on Wednesday. Most of the gap between that and the comparable growth rate of 7.0 percent comes from Exact Sciences, the cancer diagnostics company Abbott bought on March 23.

Adjusted EPS rose to $1.42 from $1.30. GAAP diluted EPS fell to $0.53 from $0.94, after $1.557bn of after-tax charges for amortization, legal settlements, acquisitions and restructuring.

Medical devices led, with comparable growth of 7.8 percent on $5.8bn of sales. Diagnostics sales rose 46.7 percent as reported and 6.4 percent on a comparable basis.

Abbott kept the midpoint of its full-year adjusted EPS guidance and narrowed the range to $5.50 to $5.55. It expects $1.62 to $1.67 in the fourth quarter.