Abbott Laboratories' 2026 Guidance Cut Driven by Diabetes, Electrophysiology Portfolio, RBC Says

11:07 AM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Abbott Laboratories' (ABT) 2026 guidance cuts were driven by headwinds related to its diabetes and electrophysiology portfolio, RBC Capital Markets said in a Wednesday note. The company reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.42, up from $1.30 a year earlier, as sales rose to $13.01 billion from $11.37 billion. For 2026, Abbott now projects adjusted EPS of $5.50 to $5.55 and around 6% in sales growth. The previous outlook was $5.45 to $5.60 in adjusted EPS and 6.5% to 7.5% in sales growth. RBC said the lower Q4 growth outlook for electrophysiology is mostly due to a slowdown in orders for left atrial appendage closure products in the US. For its diabetes portfolio, Abbott is expected to see challenges in penetrating the Type 2 non-insulin population over the next few quarters, the brokerage added. On the other hand, the separation of the company's global nutrition division should be a tailwind in 2027, potentially sharpening its growth and margin profile, RBC noted. RBC has an outperform rating on Abbott Laboratories, with a lower price target of $125 from $130. Price: 100.83, Change: +0.31, Percent Change: +0.31