The companies on the Global 500 employ 70.2 million people, and their revenue represents more than one-third of the world’s GDP.

Fortune Global 500

With a combined revenue of $21 trillion and $2.1 trillion in profits, the 2026 Fortune 500 is the definitive list of America's largest companies.

Fortune 500

The 300 companies on this year’s list brought in over $12.5 trillion in revenue for the latest 12 months, with the median revenue figure at $24 billion.

America's Most Innovative Companies

AI is a major force shaping this year’s list—but it’s far from the only story.

World's Most Admired Companies

These companies use the creative forces of capitalism to solve big problems—and do well by doing good.

The transfusion division of health care giant Abbott screens about half of the U.S. blood supply, so the nationwide decline in blood donations since the COVID pandemic has been not only a public health problem but, for Abbott, a business problem. The company tackled the dilemma by appealing to college students’ competitive streak: Last year, it launched the “We Give Blood” campaign among students at schools in the Big Ten conference, coinciding with the college football season. 

The 2024 initiative resulted in nearly 20,000 donations, enough to save up to 60,000 lives. First-time donors represented 69% of We Give Blood participants. In and around the University of Nebraska—the school that won the competition—local blood centers saw a 27% increase in young donors (ages 16 to 24) versus the previous year. Season two kicked off this September, and is attracting donors at an even faster rate: It neared 20,000 donations in just the first four weeks of the drive.

Change the World

The corporations on our annual list of the world's 500 largest companies combined to generate $41.7 trillion in revenue over the past year.

Almost $20 trillion in revenue—and a record-breaking $1.87 trillion in profits. Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive list of the biggest companies in America.

The 300 companies on this year’s list brought in over $12.6 trillion in revenue for the latest 12 months, with the median revenue figure at $22 billion.

Leaders in all industries rely more than ever on Big Tech—and appreciate the giants that deliver, at scale, without drama.

The corporations on our annual list posted aggregate revenues of $41 trillion for the second year in a row.

Industries included in the sector are insurance and managed care, medical products and facilities, pharmacy services, and pharmaceutical companies.

Fortune Sector Leaders: Health Care

The Fortune 500, in its 70th year in 2024, ranks the biggest U.S. companies by revenue.

The 200 companies on this list are transforming industries from the inside out.

The 26th edition of the list shows how much esteem Big Tech giants command among other business leaders.

The 25th Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies list suggests that tech giants’ peers respect them as much as ever.

The corporations on our annual list of the world’s largest companies delivered a record $41 trillion in aggregate revenues.

The 300 companies on this list are transforming industries from the inside out.

The companies on this list are mobilizing the creative tools of capitalism to help solve social problems.

CTW-2023-Abbott-Graduation-F2S1

Student debt is a massive burden in the U.S. There are more than 43 million borrowers carrying a combined $1.8 trillion in obligations. Debtors often have to choose between paying off their student loans or saving for retirement. That’s why Abbott developed Freedom 2 Save. F2S is a benefit program in which enrolled employees who put 2% of their pay toward their student loans get a corporate match of 5% into their 401(k)s—keeping them from having to sacrifice their future to pay off their past. The health care company’s innovative offering required special permission from the IRS before it could launch in 2018. To date, Abbott has contributed more than $5.5 million to over 2,500 of its employees, including $1.7 million in 2022 alone. Beginning in 2024, all U.S. employers will be able to offer a similar benefit through a provision of the SECURE 2.0 Act—inspired by Abbott’s offering—which will enable employers to match employees’ student loan payments with 401(k) contributions.

The Fortune 500, in its 69th year in 2023, ranks the biggest U.S. companies by revenue.

F500-2023-099-Abbott Labortories

Riding the tail end of a sales boom in COVID-19 tests, the medical device and health care products firm dropped 13 spots on the Fortune 500 in 2022, with revenue increasing only 1.3% and profits down 2%. 
<ul> 
 	<li>COVID-19 test revenue accounted for one-fifth of Abbott’s bottom line in 2022, jumping to $8.4 billion from $7.7 billion in 2021. At the end of the first quarter of 2023, the firm projected test sales to drop to $1.5 billion for the year.</li> 
 	<li>Abbott fed some of its COVID-19 test proceeds into research and development, investing an additional $2 billion in 2022.</li> 
 	<li>The Department of Justice is investigating Abbott’s infant formula plant in Michigan, which shut down from February to June 2022 owing to contamination, setting off a nationwide shortage.</li> 
</ul>

Just as it dominates our economy, Big Tech now dominates Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation.

Aggregate sales hit $37.8 trillion last year—an increase of 19%, the highest annual growth rate in the list’s history.

See which workplaces made this year's list.

GPTW Health Care Large 2022-Abbott Laboratories_1000884-3 copy

Employees say: 
 
“I have never worked at a company that has put so much effort into making sure that their employees are taken care of. Abbott seems to go to great lengths to help employees, their family and the community.”

Best Large Workplaces in Health Care

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 68th running of the list.

F500-2022-086-Abbott Laboratories

COVID-19 testing continued to drive revenue growth for Abbott Labs in 2021: As of January 2022, the company had distributed about 1.4 billion tests, and those generated $7.7 billion in sales in 2021. Medical devices and nutrition products like Similac and Ensure together account for about two-thirds of Abbott’s revenue. The nutrition division endured a setback in early 2022, however, when Abbott issued a voluntary recall of powdered infant formula manufactured in one of its facilities in Michigan after the plant was linked to a bacterial-infection outbreak; the shutdown contributed to a nationwide formula shortage.

After a year in which humanity leaned more heavily than ever on tech giants, see which companies topped Fortune's ranking of corporate reputation.

WMAC 2021-42-Abbott Laboratories

Total revenue for the world’s biggest companies fell 4.8% to $31.7 trillion this year—the first decline in half a decade.

<span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Abbott Laboratories leveled up on this year’s Fortune 500 list, leaping from last year’s rank of 104 to No. 89. Why? COVID testing. Abbott was one of the first to jump into the testing market, and that alacrity has paid off; the company’s diagnostics unit, which also houses its COVID test arm, raked in more than $4 billion in sales during the first quarter of 2021 alone. Abbott, though, isn’t putting all its eggs in one basket. As life starts returning to normal, the company believes its diabetes care and glucose monitoring products will continue to fuel growth. &quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:12673,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:2,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri, Arial&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:11}" data-sheets-textstyleruns="{&quot;1&quot;:0}{&quot;1&quot;:46,&quot;2&quot;:{&quot;6&quot;:1}}{&quot;1&quot;:53}">Abbott Laboratories leveled up on this year’s Global 500 list, leaping from last year’s rank of 393 to No. 350. Why? COVID testing. Abbott was one of the first to jump into the testing market, and that alacrity has paid off; the company’s diagnostics unit, which also houses its COVID test arm, raked in more than $4 billion in sales during the first quarter of 2021 alone. Abbott, though, isn’t putting all its eggs in one basket. As life starts returning to normal, the company believes its diabetes care and glucose monitoring products will continue to fuel growth.

The best U.S. health care companies with more than 1,000 employees, as ranked by their employees in the past year.

Best Workplaces Healthcare Large 2021-Abbott Laboratories

Employees say: 
“It's really amazing to be part of a team where everyone does their best to help and assist on various projects in addition to their responsibilities.” 
Read Great Place to Work review .

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 67th running of the list.

F500-2021-89-Abbott Laboratories

<span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Abbott Laboratories leveled up on this year’s Fortune 500 list, leaping from last year’s rank of 104 to No. 89. Why? COVID testing. Abbott was one of the first to jump into the testing market, and that alacrity has paid off; the company’s diagnostics unit, which also houses its COVID test arm, raked in more than $4 billion in sales during the first quarter of 2021 alone. Abbott, though, isn’t putting all its eggs in one basket. As life starts returning to normal, the company believes its diabetes care and glucose monitoring products will continue to fuel growth. &quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:12673,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:2,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri, Arial&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:11}" data-sheets-textstyleruns="{&quot;1&quot;:0}{&quot;1&quot;:46,&quot;2&quot;:{&quot;6&quot;:1}}{&quot;1&quot;:53}">Abbott Laboratories leveled up on this year’s Fortune 500 list, leaping from last year’s rank of 104 to No. 89. Why? COVID testing. Abbott was one of the first to jump into the testing market, and that alacrity has paid off; the company’s diagnostics unit, which also houses its COVID test arm, raked in more than $4 billion in sales during the first quarter of 2021 alone. Abbott, though, isn’t putting all its eggs in one basket. As life starts returning to normal, the company believes its diabetes care and glucose monitoring products will continue to fuel growth.

For an astounding 13th straight year, Apple claims the top spot in Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation, based on a survey of almost 3,800 executives, directors, and analysts.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $33.3 trillion in revenues and $2.1 trillion in profits.

G500-2020-393-Abbott-Laboratories

Health care company Abbott Labs manufactures medical devices, diagnostic tools, and nutritional products like Ensure. While the pandemic has depressed some aspects of Abbott's business, demand for COVID-19 testing has buoyed its diagnostic arm.

The best workplaces in health care and biopharma make their employees feel valued while the health care industry continues to undergo rapid technological changes.

Best Workplaces in Health Care and Biopharma-2020-Abbott Laboratories

Employees say: 
“People aren't just here to earn their paychecks, but to make high quality products for the people that depend on them. The people also really care about each other here and go out of their way to ensure that everyone is comfortable.” 
Read Great Place to Work review .

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 66th running of the list.

F500-2020-104-Abbott-Laboratories

Health care company Abbott Labs manufactures medical devices, diagnostic tools, and nutritional products like Ensure.

As we face unprecedented collective challenges, cooperation has become a business superpower.

24.CTW20.Abbott

Health care access is a challenge in Rwanda, which makes one diagnostic innovation by Abbott Labs particularly valuable. Abbott’s prenatal panel tests simultaneously for syphilis, malaria, HIV, and hepatitis B, using only one finger-stick of blood, with results in the same visit. For expectant mothers who may have time or resources for only one trip to the clinic, that means better care; the test has also enabled a tripling of malaria case detections. 
 
At press time, health care providers were just beginning to deploy another potentially crucial Abbott diagnostic product: An “antigen” test for COVID-19 that yields results in 15 minutes and costs $5.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2019 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $27.7 trillion in revenues and $1.5 trillion in profits.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 65th running of the list.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2018 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 64th running of the list.

Here’s our look at 57 companies that do well by doing good.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2017 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 63rd running of the list.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2016 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 62nd running of the list.

Business insiders have spoken: Asked which companies they most admire, more than 4,100 executives, directors, and analysts chose these top 50 All-Stars.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 61st running of the list. Wal-Mart claims the top spot again. See who made the list.

Wal-Mart stayed on top as its sales crept closer to half-a-trillion dollars. Apple moved into the top five. And UnitedHealth Group continued its steady climb. 

Company Info

Founded

Industry Vertical

U.S. Employees

Worldwide Employees

Sites

HQ Location

Web Address

Date info provided (companies may opt to keep some data confidential)

Change The World

Impact Segment

Sector

Prior Year Rank

Industry

Current All-Star Rank

Previous All-Star Rank

Industry Rank

Previous Industry Rank

Overall Score

Innovation

People Management

Use of Corporate Assets

Social Responsibility

Quality of Management

Financial Soundness

Long-Term Investment Value

Quality of Products/Services

Global Competitiveness

Strongest Dimension

Years on list

Previous rank

State

Key Financials (last Fiscal Year)

Revenues ($M)

Profits ($M)

Assets ($M)

Total Stockholder Equity ($M)

Profit Ratios

Profit as % of Revenues

Profits as % of Assets

Profits as % of Stockholder Equity

Earnings Per Share (last Fiscal Year)

Earnings Per Share ($)

EPS % Change (from prior fiscal year)

EPS % Change (5 year annual rate)

EPS % Change (10 year annual rate)

Total Return

Total Return to Investors (last year)

Total Return to Investors (5 year, annualized)

Total Return to Investors (10 year, annualized)

Abbott Laboratories is a global health care company. Founded in 1888, the company operates in four main segments: established pharmaceutical products, diagnostic products, nutritional products—including infant formula—and medical devices. As of 2024, Abbott’s medical devices segment was its largest and fastest-growing, accounting for about 45% of revenue. That segment includes devices for monitoring cardiovascular health, glucose monitoring systems for diabetes care, and neuromodulation devices for chronic pain and movement disorders.

Q2 2026

Q1 2026

Q4 2025

Q3 2025

Q2 2025

Q1 2025

Q4 2024

Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

legacy

Abbott Laboratories

abbott laboratories

Good morning, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Abbott's 4th Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be able to listen only until the question and answer portion of this call. During the question and answer session, you will be able to ask your question by pressing the star 11 keys on your touch tone phone. This call is being recorded by Abbott.

With the exception of any participants' questions asked during the question and answer session, the entire call, including the question and answer session, is material copyrighted by Abbott. It cannot be recorded or rebroadcast without Abbott's expressed written permission. I would now like to introduce Mr. Mike Camilla, Vice President, Investor Relations.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. With me today are Robert Ford, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Phil Boudreaux, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Robert and Phil will provide opening remarks. Following their comments, we'll take your questions. Before we get started, some statements made today may be forward looking for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the expected financial results for 2025.

Abbott cautions that these forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1A Risk Factors to our annual report on Form 10 ks for the year ended December 31, 2023. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments except as required by law. On today's conference call, as in the past, non GAAP financial measures will be used to help investors understand Abbott's ongoing business performance. These non GAAP financial measures are reconciled with comparable GAAP financial measures our earnings news release and regulatory filings from today, which are available on our website at abbott.com.

Note that Abbott has not provided the related GAAP financial measures on a forward looking basis for the non GAAP financial measures for which the company is providing guidance because the company is unable to predict with reasonable certainty and without unreasonable effort the timing and impact of certain items, which could significantly impact Abbott's results in accordance with GAAP. Unless otherwise noted, our commentary on sales growth refers to organic sales growth, which is defined in the press release issued earlier today. With that, I will now turn the call over to Robert.

Thanks, Mike. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us.

First, I want to express gratitude to my Abbott colleagues around the world whose hard work and passion were the driving forces of Abbott's continued success. Abbott's commitment to innovation, operational excellence and serving the needs of our customers resulted in another year of exceptional performance, which included achieving sales growth of 9.5 percent excluded COVID testing, delivering 70 basis points of gross margin profile improvement, driving acceleration in the growth of our earnings per share throughout the year and developing and advancing new products through our rich pipeline. The strong performance resulted in generating $8,500,000,000 of operating cash flow, which was used to reinvest in the business, fund capacity expansions, repay debt and returned $5,000,000,000 to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. These accomplishments played a key role in continuing our well established track record for delivering on our financial commitments, which included achieving results that finished at the high end of our initial guidance ranges we provided for 2024. These results included exiting the year with a very strong momentum as 4th quarter sales grew 10% excluding COVID testing sales and adjusted earnings per share increased 13% versus the prior year.

For 2025, we're well positioned to deliver another year of strong growth. As we announced this morning, we forecast organic sales growth to be in the range of 7.5% to 8.5% and adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $5.05 to $5.25 which reflects double digit growth at the midpoint. I'll now summarize our Q4 results in more detail before turning the call over to Phil. I'll start with Nutrition. Our sales increased 7% in the quarter.

Growth in the quarter was driven by double digit growth in adult nutrition led by our market leading Njurer and Glucerna brands. We achieved a significant milestone last year with annual sales of Ensure surpassing $3,000,000,000 This achievement helped deliver another year of strong performance in adult nutrition with annual sales of adult nutrition products growing 9% last year. This strong performance is a continuation of a well established trend. The 5 year compound annual growth rate in adult nutrition is 9%, which reflects the impact of our well known and respected brands, favorable demographic trends and the significant investments we've made to expand manufacturing capacity to serve the growing global demand for our products. Moving to diagnostics, where sales increased 6% excluded COVID testing sales.

Growth in the quarter was led by rapid diagnostics, where excluded COVID testing sales increased 16% in the quarter. This was driven by strong demand for our portfolio of respiratory disease tests used to help diagnose influenza, strep throat and RSV. In Core Laboratory Diagnostics, growth of 4% was driven by continued strong demand for our market leading immunoassay clinical chemistry, hematology and blood screening testing panels. Excluding the impact of challenging market dynamics in China, the combined growth in all other markets was double digits in the quarter. Turning to EPD, where sales increased 8.5% in the quarter.

Growth was well balanced across markets and therapeutic areas that we participate in, including gastroenterology, women's health, CNS and pain management. EPD also delivered broad based growth across the markets we serve, including double digit growth in several countries across Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. By focusing on the therapies most needed in these faster growing markets, we continue to sustain our long track record of delivering strong growth, which includes a 5 year compound annual growth rate for EPD of 8%. And I'll wrap up with medical devices, where sales grew 14%. In Diabetes Care, sales of continuous glucose monitors were $1,800,000,000 in the quarter and grew 23%.

For the full year 2024, sales of continuous glucose monitors were approximately $6,500,000,000 and grew 22%. This included growth of 27% in the U. S. Where our market share on a revenue basis has increased by more than 10 share points over the last 3 years. In electrophysiology, growth of 9% was well balanced across the U.

S. And international markets. As expected, growth in the quarter was impacted by a challenging comparison versus the prior year, where we saw a sharp increase in demand for our nSight cardiac mapping systems as customers prepared for the launch of PFA catheters. Excluding the impact of this prior year comparison dynamic, growth would have been double digits globally in the U. S.

And internationally. In Structural Heart, growth of 23% was driven by strong performance across our market leading portfolio of surgical valves, structural interventions and transcatheter repair and replacement products. Structural Heart represents one of the most attractive areas in the field of medical technologies. It is an area that we have invested in heavily and we're seeing those investments yield outstanding results. Our comprehensive portfolio of products drove an acceleration in sales growth in structural heart throughout the year.

In Ribbon Management, growth of 7% was led by Avera, our innovative leadless pacemaker and Aussert, our newest implantable cardiac monitor, which we launched in the U. S. Last year. With growth of 7% for the full year, our Rhythm Management business delivered another year of performance that far exceeded the market and we expect that to continue this year. Last month, we announced that we completed the 1st in human implants of a new version of AVer specifically designed to deliver pacing to the left bundle branch area of the heart, activating the heart's natural conduction system.

This highly innovative device currently in development was granted breakthrough designation by the FDA. In heart failure, growth of 9.5% was driven by our market leading portfolio of heart assist devices, which offer treatment for chronic and temporary conditions. In vascular, growth of 7% was led by double digit growth in vessel closure products and growth from ESPRIT, our below the knee resorbable stent. And lastly, in neuromodulation, sales grew 8% driven by strong demand in international markets for our Eterna rechargeable spinal cord stimulation device. So in summary, we delivered another quarter of strong growth with sales growing 10% and earnings per share growing 13%.

For the year, we achieved the upper end of the initial guidance ranges we provided for 2024. We made great progress expanding our gross margin profile and we expect that progress to continue into 2025. The pipeline continues to provide a steady cadence of new growth opportunities and we're well positioned to deliver another year of strong growth in 2025. And I'll turn the call over to Phil.

Thanks, Robert. As Mike mentioned earlier, please note that all references to sales growth rates unless otherwise noted are on an organic basis. Turning to our Q4 results. Sales increased 8.8% on an organic basis and increased 10.1% when excluding COVID testing sales. Foreign exchange had an unfavorable year over year impact of 1.4% on 4th quarter sales.

During the quarter, we saw the U. S. Dollar strengthen against most currencies, which resulted in unfavorable impact on sales compared to exchange rates at the time of our earnings call in October. Regarding other aspects of the P and L, the adjusted gross margin ratio was 56.9 percent of sales, adjusted R and D was 6.3% of sales and adjusted SG and A was 26.3 percent of sales in the 4th quarter. Lastly, our 4th quarter adjusted tax rate was 15%.

Turning to our outlook for 2025. Today, we issued guidance for full year adjusted earnings per share of $5.05 to $5.25 which reflects double digit growth at the midpoint of the range and contemplates an adjusted earnings per share forecast of $1.05 to $1.09 for the Q1. For the year, we forecast organic sales growth to be in the range of 7.5% to 8.5%. Please note that we are no longer providing separate guidance for the sales growth excluding COVID testing sales as COVID testing sales represents less than 2% of total company sales in 2024. Based on current rates, we would expect exchange to have an unfavorable impact of around 2.5% on full year reported sales, which includes an expected unfavorable impact of approximately 3.5% on our Q1 reported sales.

We expect our full year 2025 adjusted gross margin profile to be around 57% of sales, which reflects an improvement of around 80 basis points versus the prior year. We forecast our full year 2025 adjusted operating margin profile to be in the range of 23.5% to 24% of sales, which reflects an improvement of 150 basis points versus the prior year at the midpoint of the range. This improvement is driven by a combination of strong gross margin expansion and operating margin leverage. We forecast our adjusted tax rate to be in the range of 16% to 17%, which reflects an increase compared to last year related to the adoption of the Pillar 2 tax framework. With that, we'll now open the call for questions.

Thank you. At this time, we will conduct a question and answer session. And our first question will come from Robbie Marcus from JPMorgan. Your line is open.

Great. Thanks for taking the question. Congrats on a nice quarter and guide. And maybe Robert, I could start with the 2025 guide. Once again, guiding to high single digit organic sales growth, healthy operating margin expansion and nice to see 10% EPS growth back in the algorithm again.

Maybe you could just speak to some of the key growth drivers and how we should think about the different business segments on the top line and some of the components of the operating margin expansion down the P and L? Thanks a lot.

Robbie. Yes, it's nice to see kind of the headline print now back to double digit EPS growth. I think that's probably one of the things that it's one of the things you'll see now Ravi as we go into 2025. I mean you've got a lot of growth drivers there. But I think one of the big things is that you don't have the COVID sales decline cloud that's kind of overshadowing all these real strong growth drivers that we got in the business.

And you saw that in Q3 as we showed 13% EPS sorry, in Q4 as we showed 13% EPS growth. So I think that's one big aspect is just not having those sales decline. I mean, we've got COVID sales in 2025, but it's as Phil said in his comments, significantly less from our total revenue perspective. I think it starts with the top line always, Robbie. And the markets that we compete in, they remain attractive.

We're seeing acceleration in several of them. I mean, we're very diversified health care companies, so we get to benefit from all the different dynamics that are going on in health care, whether it's increased health and wellness focus from consumers, we get to benefit from that on our nutrition business. Every treatment requires a diagnostic test, about 70% of them require a diagnostic test. So we're seeing continued growth over there. And then then we've got 2 areas where we focus on treatments, whether it's pharmaceuticals or medtech.

And so all of those markets, they're accelerating. And then within them, we've got strong product portfolios that are either keeping up with these very high growth markets or we're outperforming the markets and taking shares. And if you look at the contributions, we've got your current drivers, whether it's Libre, Triclips, AVer, Navitor, Amulet, all of those products in the cardiovascular space. So the bases are loaded, I would call that. And then you've got nice on deck circle and a lineup of batteries that are coming up right after that, whether it's biosimilars, Volt, innovations in the Libre portfolio, some clinical trial readouts.

So I think we feel very good about all of the businesses and you saw all the businesses improve their growth from Q3 to Q4. So I think it starts with the top line and I think we're well positioned in them. To your question on the margin drivers, I'd say we've got we've done a lot of work on gross margin expansion. We've talked about that committing to a 70 basis point improvement in 2024. We achieved that.

We believe that we can achieve another 80 basis points of improvement in 2025 and that's what's embedded in that guide is continuous improvement on the gross margin in the tune of 80 basis points, really driven by continued focus on gross margin improvement programs and then mix as some of the higher gross margin products continue to grow ahead of the company average, you get that mix effect. And then down the P and L, I think you've got an opportunity as we've talked about in the past to be able to leverage the business and obtain spending leverage across the business. And again, I think that was another challenge we had during COVID or as the COVID was coming down, we really only relied on one lever of margin expansion, which was gross margin improvement. I'd say now you've got 2, we actually have 2, which is our original formula, gross margin expansion and then spending leverage. So you put all that together, you've got about 16% actually underlying growth in the EPS coming from the top line, the gross margin improvement and the spending leverage.

And then we've got obviously some friction on FX. I think every company is going to face that as we've seen the strengthening dollar and increased tax rates, which also aren't a surprise. We've known about that. And so that brings us down to that 10%. So I kind of look at this and say, okay, what you've seen now for 2025 is the Abbott that we know, the Abbott identity that we built, which is high single digit top line, double digit bottom line, gross margin improvement, spending, leverage and productivity, strong operating cash flow.

We know how to deal with FX. So we deal with it every year and we're dealing with it again this year and still being able to deliver double digit EPS, dealing with a higher tax rate. So I think I saw some notes about calendarization about maybe Q1 not coming in. I could tell you we looked at our Q1 and all of our gating, all of our gating or EPS is very much aligned to what it was in 2024, it's very much aligned to what it was pre COVID. So again, all the elements of Abbott and the Abbott identity that we know are there and we're looking forward to 2025.

Thank you. Our next question will come from Larry Biegelsen from Wells Fargo. Your line is open.

Good morning. Thanks for taking the question. So Robert, I guess that you talked about it starts with the top line. You had another really strong year for CGM with over 20% constant currency growth on $6,500,000,000 in sales. So love to hear you talk about your expectations for growth in 2025, the status of the Libre 3 supply issues and any color you have on the Lingo launch?

Sure. So let me talk about Libre 3 supply. As we spoke about during the last call, Larry, there was a little bit of a mismatch between our manufacturing coming up online and the demand that we were seeing, especially here in the U. S.

That caused a little bit of friction there. But as I said, we were in process of getting our new manufacturing site up and running. I was there in November and seeing the team and that's going now at full force. So Libre 3 supply with 2 manufacturing sites up and running. And I think you'll start to see throughout the next 1 or 2 quarters a change here and a little bit on the NBRx's on the TRx's.

I know you guys like to look at those quite often, I guess. Those are important metric to look at, Larry, but they're not the only metric to see how the businesses are doing. I mean, I think you saw that in our Q4, we're able to grow the U. S. 24%.

So there are other elements that aren't measured. I think you also you guys also saw the impact of relying exclusively on those data in Q3 as competitors had challenges also. So it's an important metric to look at, but I would say it's not the only ones and I think we've kind of shown that here. So Libre 3 is doing pretty well and it's just going to get better. As I look at 2025, I'd say there's some pretty interesting kind of growth drivers here for us.

I'd say first as a base case, I still think there's under penetration in the intensive insulin using segment. I mean, if you look at the U. S, there's still 25 percent of that segment that are not on CGMs. And if you think about that internationally, it's more like 50%. So I still think as a base case to driving all this growth, there's all this opportunity in this segment.

But I think there are 3 areas in 2025 that I believe accelerates that opportunity for us. One of them is obviously basal coverage and we continue to see with the publication of more clinical evidence, you see more and more markets move towards expanding reimbursement coverage. Now we have a couple of markets where we're the only ones that do have that coverage, whether it's Japan or Canada. These are large markets. So these are great opportunities for us where we've got this head start and we'll keep on driving that.

So I think basal is a big bucket of growth. I think the other area that I talked about as being an area of growth for us is more a kind of share ability to take share, and that's through connectivity strategies with insulin delivery systems. We've been talking about all the things that we've been doing with regards to partnership with insulin pump companies. And I think you'll see throughout this year several announcements on connectivities in different geographies, and that gives us the opportunity to penetrate albeit a smaller segment, but it'd be able to penetrate that segment and take share. And I think the 3rd area of growth for us of acceleration is just the whole OTC, non diabetes application with the launch of Lingo, continue to see very nice trends.

We've launched it in a restricted number of U. S. Cities. But I think now that we understand what it takes to be able to drive adoption with this completely different consumer segment that will probably be expanding this and expanding this more nationally here in the U. S.

And potentially looking at other areas internationally to bring this. So I think the Lingo launch is going very well in several areas. I think it surpassed some of my expectations, especially regarding reorder rates. And I think those continue and I think that's going to be another kind of leg of the stool so as to say on this growth. So I think those are really the kind of growth drivers that we've got planned for Libre.

I think the insulin, intensive insulin segment is still an opportunity, pretty significant opportunity and then you've got these 3 accelerators on top of that.

Thank you. Our next question comes from Travis Steed from BofA Securities. Your line is open.

Hey, thanks for taking the question. I wanted to ask about EP growth. Still strong high single digits in the quarter and I think it was even faster than that excluding the tough mapping comp. I wanted there's a lot of things moving around in that market right now. One competitor had a big setback in PFA and your progress is moving forward with both.

So just thinking about how you're thinking about ET growth in 2025 as you bridge to PFA in 2026 and your ability to kind of regain market share once Volt launches?

Sure. Yes, I mean, I think this wasn't a surprise for us And it wasn't really driven by any kind of adoption of PFA regarding our Q4 growth rate. In fact, as I've said in previous calls, I think the net effect for us has actually been very positive. What we did have was an execution of that strategy, Travis, where we said, okay, we're going to bridge ourselves and one of the ways to do that is through our mapping. And that's what really drove our success in 2024 is what we did in Q4 of 2023, really taken advantage of our ability to offer the only real open truly open mapping system.

So that created that comp issue. It was double digits in Q4, 12% in the U. S, 12% internationally. So still seeing very good. And I think, again, I would say, these results, I think we outperformed a lot of the expectations that many of you guys had about our EP business.

And I think the driver of that has been the team. The team in the field has just been spectacular, I think. And I've been close to them last year. And I think what they did was really strong. So I guess I answered your question in 2025, really looking at what we did in 2024.

And I expect to continue to benefit in 2025 from just the general increasing procedure trends. We've got opportunities to grow with some recently launched products, whether it's our GridX, our next generation mapping catheter, our new Agilis introducer sheath, I mean that's a great opportunity for us also. So yes, it's going to be a little bit more competitive. It's been pretty competitive in 2024. I expect that intensity to increase when it comes to the ablation catheters.

But I'm confident that we can maintain a strong position in the mapping segment and everything that comes with all the consumables that come with that. On top of that, our pipeline is very strong. We'll continue to engage KOLs and our customers. We've got an ongoing trial right now with a dual energy source catheter internationally and in the U. S.

We've got integration with ICE. We've got kind of news feeds to launch. So I think the pipeline allows us to continue that interaction with the KOLs and with the users. So we should expect I think you mentioned bridging to PFA in 2026. It's more like 2025 on PFA, at least internationally.

So I feel good about it. And maybe you've got a tale of 2 halves, where the second half is going to grow faster than the first half as Volt comes on board. But I'd say for the full year, high single digits seems like a good place to start, call that our base case. And then to the point that you made about competition and some of the dynamics that have occurred in the last couple of weeks, it's still a bit too early to tell, but that could be an opportunity for us also. So I feel good about the business, not only the pipeline, but more importantly, the team that we've got, they're doing an incredible real strong job.

Thank you. Our next question will come from Vijay Kumar from Evercore ISI. Your line is open.

Hi, Robert. Thanks for taking my question and congrats on a strong finish to the year. I guess, I had a 2 part question, if you don't mind. Really strong operating margins, driven both by gross margins and operating leverage, but your gross margins are still below pre pandemic levels. So I'm curious when you look at that margins, how sustainable are these trends, perhaps not at triple digits, but should we be thinking about trend margin framework as gross margins normalize?

And my second part is on balance sheet. I'm curious, there's been some M and A activity picking up in medtech. How are you thinking about devices versus diagnostics? I'm curious, any thoughts on that cancer screening, MRD, etcetera?

I'll let Phil talk to the gross margin, the sustainability of that margin improvement and then I'll take your balance sheet question.

Yes. Thanks, Robert and Vijay here. On the gross margin front, I think we spoke to this the last few calls and nothing here has really changed relative to an underlying focus of the business and of the organization as Robert touched on here. I think the difference in recent years causing that erosion was the significant inflation in commodity prices, which has really sort of resorted back to I'd call it normalized inflationary pressures, pressures that we're very much accustomed to managing through with our organizations and focus on gross margin expansion. And so what you saw in 2024 was exactly that the recipe we're accustomed to and the commitment in 2020 5 to do much of the same.

So from an expansion standpoint, we expect this to continue and it's not a matter of if, but when we get back to kind of the legacy and historical gross margin profiles.

Yes. I guess on your question on balance sheet, I've always talked about this, Vijay. I mean, we do take this kind of balanced approach. I'm not going to give you a form of how much goes to here, how much goes to there. We do take a balanced approach.

And on your M and A question, yes, there's been an uptake of activity, no doubt. There are some good opportunities out there. And whether and I don't think you're going to see a change in kind of rate environment, but maybe on the regulatory environment, I think that creates opportunity. I've said that we've got a strong organic pipeline. It allows us to be selective, allows us to look at opportunities that make sense strategically, but also generate an attractive return.

I talked about how ROIC is important for us also. So not top line, but return on that capital. So we do take a position here of being stewards of that capital. So I'd say, yes, we're in a great position. We do have some debt to pay down this year, which we will.

I don't anticipate rates coming down to the point that we might want to look at refinancing that. So we'll pay off that debt. It's about $1,500,000,000 this year. But even with that, we're in a great position to with our balance sheet to be able to leverage opportunities that we'll see, talked about them. There's opportunities in med tech, there's opportunities in diagnostics and we're in a great position.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Company Participants