April 29 (Reuters) - Medical equipment maker GE HealthCare on Wednesday cut its full-year profit forecast on the back of inflation-driven cost pressures, sending its shares down more than 9% in premarket trading.
The company also missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit due to a supplier issue in its diagnostic business, which it said has since been resolved.
"We saw significant increases in memory chips, oil and freight costs during the first quarter that we assume will impact the rest
of 2026," CEO Peter Arduini said.
He added that the company expects to offset more than half of the inflation impact with price and cost actions.
GE HealthCare expects 2026 adjusted profit of $4.80 to $5 per share, compared with its prior forecast of $4.95 to $5.15.
The company's first-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.99 per share missed analysts' estimate of $1.05, according to data compiled by LSEG.
J.P. Morgan analysts said they were "unsurprised" by the share weakness, given the mixed results that included "stronger-than-expected top-line performance balanced against disruption down the P&L and lowered guidance."
Despite rising costs and currency swings, GE HealthCare said demand for its diagnostic and imaging devices has been healthy across regions.
The company expects the impact from tariffs in 2026 to be lower than last year, based on current rates.
Its first-quarter revenue rose 7.4% to $5.13 billion from a year ago, topping expectations of $5.04 billion.
The imaging devices unit, the largest of its four segments, posted a 7.4% rise in its quarterly sales of $2.30 billion, beating expectations of about $2.19 billion.
That strength was partly offset by a decline in the patient care solutions business, where quarterly revenue fell 6.5% to $704 million due to softer demand, the company said.
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
