Abbott Laboratories (ABT) beat Q2 expectations, with growth acceleration in the second half of 2026 remaining on track and its longer-term outlook supporting durable growth, RBC Capital Markets said.
The analysts said in a note Thursday that the stock rose about 12% following the results as several investor concerns failed to materialize. These included fears of a guidance cut, weaker Nutrition performance, disruption from Exact, and slower MedTech procedure volumes.
Looking ahead, the company has strong visibility into faster growth in H2. Key drivers include continued recovery in Nutrition, market share gains in Electrophysiology, easing headwinds in Core Lab as China pressures moderate, and stronger growth in Cancer Diagnostics driven by increasing Cologuard adoption.
Abbott has a clear path toward the upper end of its 6.5% to 7.5% comparable sales growth guidance and has upside potential if those growth drivers continue to strengthen, according to the note.
RBC reiterated its outperform rating and $130 price target on Abbott Laboratories.
Shares of Abbott Laboratories were up nearly 3% in Friday trading.
Price: $101.65, Change: $+2.82, Percent Change: +2.85%