Abbott Laboratories beat second-quarter earnings expectations and raised its full-year 2026 profit guidance, signaling strong momentum across its diagnostic, medical device, and nutrition businesses. The company reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.31 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.28, and lifted its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance range to $5.45 to $5.60 from the prior range of $5.38 to $5.58.
The Abbott stock price reaction reflected investor confidence in the company’s forward outlook. The guidance raise came despite continued headwinds in the nutrition segment, which declined 3.6 percent on a comparable basis in the quarter.
Q2 sales increased 13.0 percent on a reported basis to $12.6 billion, though comparable sales growth—which strips out acquisition-related gains and foreign exchange impacts—came in at 4.8 percent, according to the PR Newswire earnings release. The reported growth rate benefited substantially from Abbott’s March 23, 2026 completion of its $21 billion acquisition of Exact Sciences, a leading cancer diagnostics company.
The Exact Sciences acquisition, announced in November 2025, marked Abbott’s major entry into the fast-growing cancer screening and precision oncology diagnostics market. On a comparable basis—which includes Exact Sciences sales from the prior year—cancer diagnostics revenue grew mid-teens, driven by strong performance of Cologuard, the company’s flagship colorectal cancer screening test. The acquisition expanded Abbott’s addressable market in cancer diagnostics to over $60 billion, according to company communications.
Medical devices delivered strong performance, with comparable sales growth of 8.4 percent in Q2. Electrophysiology led growth with low-teens expansion, while diabetes care—bolstered by continuous glucose monitor sales that grew 9.5 percent on a comparable basis—contributed high-single-digit gains. Established Pharmaceuticals, which operates primarily outside the United States, posted comparable sales growth of 8.7 percent, with key emerging markets showing double-digit expansion.
Abbott reaffirmed its full-year 2026 comparable sales growth guidance of 6.5 to 7.5 percent and provided third-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.38 to $1.46. The company also announced it returned $2.1 billion to shareholders in the second quarter through dividends and share repurchases, and declared its 410th consecutive quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, reflecting 54 consecutive years of dividend increases.
The earnings beat and guidance raise represent a recovery from April’s first-quarter results, when Abbott had trimmed its full-year EPS guidance to $5.38 to $5.58 due to integration costs and other near-term headwinds from the Exact Sciences deal. The Q2 results demonstrate that the acquisition is beginning to contribute meaningfully to earnings, offsetting integration expenses and supporting the company’s path to accelerating growth in the second half of the year, according to CEO Robert B. Ford’s statement in the earnings release.
Sources
- PR Newswire — Abbott’s official Q2 2026 earnings announcement with full financial results, guidance, and business segment details
- Investing.com — Confirmation of guidance raise to $5.45–$5.60 and comparison to prior guidance range
- 24/7 Wall St. — Summary of earnings beat and Exact Sciences acquisition impact on Q2 revenue surge
- Yahoo Finance — Coverage of Abbott’s Q2 2026 earnings announcement
- MassDevice — Details on Abbott’s $21 billion Exact Sciences deal closure on March 23, 2026
- Crain’s Chicago Business — Reporting on the closed Exact Sciences acquisition and its anticipated $3 billion annual revenue contribution
