Earnings Call Intelligence Subscribe
Home › Call Sheets › ABT › Q2'26
Call sheet · Q2'26

Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Q2'26 earnings call · held July 16, 2026 · compared with the Q1'26 call · management-credibility review
4/12
Disclosure score
2 high, 3 medium, 1 low flags
Financial quality
Bottom line
The sleeper story is EP quietly becoming Abbott's next growth engine, with 20% European growth and PFA products gaining real traction while everyone obsesses over CGM deceleration. The obvious CGM slowdown to 9.5% masks management's massive $1B bet on a fifth factory, suggesting they see reimbursement catalysts we don't. The binding constraint is China exposure: management stopped reporting actual China Core Lab numbers after five quarters of 30% declines, now just saying it will be 'much, much lower' without quantification. Ford's most revealing quote: 'I am not gonna try and forecast that' appears three times on different topics, showing visibility is worse than headlines suggest. My view changes if they return to reporting China actuals and CGM accelerates past 12% without reimbursement expansion.

The 30-second version

  • THE SLEEPER: Electrophysiology is quietly becoming the crown jewel while everyone obsesses over Libre
  • The obvious CGM deceleration isn't the story; the $1B fifth manufacturing facility commitment is
  • China Core Lab mysteriously stopped being reported at 30% decline rates

What changed this quarter

MetricQ1'26Q2'26Change
Total Revenue Growth3.7% YoY (Q1)4.8% YoY (Q2)+110 bps acceleration
Adjusted EPS$1.15 (Q1)$1.31 (Q2)+13.9% sequential
Gross Margin56.3% (Q1)58.0% (Q2)+170 bps improvement
CGM Revenue$2B at 7.5% growth (Q1)$2B at 9.5% growth (Q2)+200 bps growth acceleration
Medical Devices Growth8.5% (Q1)8.5% (Q2)Flat growth rate
Nutrition Sequential SalesQ1 baseline+$125M sequential (Q2)First sequential improvement in 6 quarters
Cancer Diagnostics Growth13% comparable (Q1)13% (Q2)Maintained high growth
Core Lab Growth3% (Q1)3% (Q2)No acceleration despite China comp easing
Electrophysiology Growth13% (Q1)Low double digits globally, 20% in EuropeEurope accelerating sharply
US Core Lab GrowthNot disclosed (Q1)7.5% (Q2)Strong US performance revealed

Accountability tracked

7 new promises made4 narrative shifts flagged6 prior promises scored
Inside the full report
The complete write-up covers the full promise ledger with kept/missed calls, disclosure-quality scoring, the metrics-vanished check, verification items, and the questions to ask next quarter.
Read the full ABT Q2'26 report Subscribe
About Research ↗Call SheetsCredibility IndexMissed PromisesScreens13F BooksData & InstitutionalPrivacyTermsSubscribe
This is a free preview. The full write-up and promise ledger are published to subscribers on Substack.
Scores, kept-promise rates, and flags on this site reflect the author's opinion, applying a stated methodology to statements management made on public earnings calls. Informational and educational purposes only - not investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Sources believed reliable but not guaranteed; the author may hold positions in the securities discussed.

Follow what management promises next

Get free previews of our earnings-call research: the key changes, management scores, and questions worth investigating. Subscribe for full call sheets and deeper analysis.

Subscriptions are managed by Substack. If the form does not load, subscribe directly. Or follow the RSS feed.