July 16 (Reuters) - Abbott beat estimates for quarterly results and raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday, banking on strong demand for its newly acquired cancer diagnostics business, sending its shares up nearly 4% premarket.
Abbott said its cancer diagnostics business, which now includes recently acquired Exact Sciences' flagship colorectal cancer screening test, Cologuard, and breast cancer assay Oncotype DX, is helping offset ongoing declines in revenue from COVID-19 testing products.
Analysts and investors are closely watching medical device makers as companies with elective procedure exposure are expected to face pressure due to weaker surgical volumes and rising uninsured patient levels.
However, companies like Abbott, which focus on electrophysiology and structural heart procedures, are expected to remain relatively resilient.
Abbott's quarterly sales in its medical devices segment grew 9% to $5.85 billion, beating estimates of $5.82 billion, according to LSEG data.
Abbott's Diabetes Care segment, which includes its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products like the FreeStyle Libre and Lingo, reported an 11% jump in sales to $2.19 billion.
The medical device maker reported quarterly adjusted profit per share of $1.31, beating analysts' estimate of $1.28.
Total revenue came in at $12.59 billion for the second quarter, compared with expectations of $12.5 billion.
The company expects an adjusted profit in the range of $5.45 to $5.60 per share for 2026, compared with its previous forecast between $5.38 and $5.58 per share.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
