ABT
The new forecast on the block
Abbott rolled out its FY 2026 earnings guidance, and the vibe is basically: “good, but not quite wow.” The company now sees full-year EPS of $5.38 to $5.58, with Q2 EPS guided to $1.25 to $1.31. That’s a real number, sure — but it also lands just a hair below the consensus midpoint investors were hoping for.
Why the Street is squinting
The bigger eyebrow-raiser? Abbott didn’t give revenue guidance. For a company this size, that can feel a little like handing in a group project with the slides missing. Investors can usually forgive a conservative forecast; they get twitchy when they have to fill in the blanks themselves.
Dividend candy, but the main course is earnings
Abbott did toss shareholders a small treat: a quarterly dividend of $0.63, or $2.52 annualized, good for roughly a 2.5% yield. Nice. But in the market’s pecking order, that’s more dessert than entree when the earnings outlook is the headline act.
The bottom line
Analysts were still mostly in the buy/outperform camp, but several trimmed price targets anyway, which tells you the Street is treating this like a modest speed bump rather than a full-blown pothole. Big picture: Abbott’s still a steady healthcare heavyweight, but this guidance gives investors one less reason to get excited and one more reason to watch the next couple quarters closely.