Abbott shares fall despite robust sales of medical devices

Abbott's quarterly medical device sales of $4.45bn (€4.17bn) beat analysts' average estimates

Abbott Laboratories beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on robust sales of its medical devices, but the company's shares fell almost 3%, signalling disappointment over its annual forecast.

The medical devices and drugs maker is one of the largest private sector employers in Ireland, with around 5,000 staff spread across multiple sites. Investor expectations around the performance of medical device makers have been heightened since last November after a resurgence in demand, as people, especially older adults, opted for medical procedures deferred during the pandemic.

"The ceiling definitely remains the same, and that's the whole point. The stock is going to go up if you beat expectations," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Shagun Singh. "If you're maintaining expectations, it's already priced into the stock...So that's what's playing right now," she said, adding that she remains positive on Abbott.

Shares in industry bellwether and rival Johnson & Johnson fell earlier this week, after it missed analysts' estimates for first-quarter medical device sales, despite expecting medtech-related procedure volumes to remain elevated through the year. J&J is also a large employer in Ireland. 

Abbott's quarterly medical device sales of $4.45bn (€4.17bn) beat analysts' average estimates. Within medtech, all the company's sub-segments came in above estimates, said Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar. He added that for the brokerage, the growth in Abbott's electrophysiology devices to treat irregular heartbeat was a standout and should allay any fears of a loss in market share.

FreeStyle Libre, Abbott's biggest product, generated sales of $1.5bn. The device is used mainly by diabetes patients and the company is targeting annual sales of $10bn by 2028. Overall, Abbott recorded almost $10bn in sales for the first three months to the end of March. 

Reuters and Irish Examiner