ABT ABBOTT LABORATORIES

NYSE Pharmaceutical Preparations IL CIK: 0000001800
AI RATING
SELL
72% Confidence

Investment Thesis

Abbott faces significant headwinds with net income growth of only 0.4% despite 5.7% revenue growth, indicating severe margin compression. Most critically, diluted EPS collapsed 51.3% year-over-year while ROE (2.1%) and ROA (1.0%) are extraordinarily low, suggesting serious inefficiencies in capital deployment or operational challenges within the core business.

Strengths

  • + Positive revenue growth of 5.7% YoY demonstrates market demand
  • + Strong operating cash flow ($1.3B) with solid 8.2% FCF margin shows cash generation capability
  • + Moderate leverage with 0.57x debt-to-equity ratio and robust 9.5x interest coverage indicates manageable debt burden
  • + Substantial balance sheet with $110.4B in assets and $6.8B cash provides financial cushion

Risks

  • ! Severe margin compression: revenue +5.7% but net income +0.4% signals operational deterioration
  • ! Catastrophic 51.3% EPS decline year-over-year indicates either massive share dilution or earnings collapse
  • ! Critically low return metrics (ROE 2.1%, ROA 1.0%) suggest fundamental inefficiencies in capital allocation
  • ! Tight quick ratio at 1.01x indicates limited short-term liquidity flexibility despite adequate current ratio
  • ! Large long-term debt of $29.6B relative to weak profitability growth creates refinancing risk in adverse conditions

Key Metrics to Watch

Financial Metrics

Revenue
11.2B
Net Income
1.1B
EPS (Diluted)
$0.61
Free Cash Flow
916.0M
Total Assets
110.4B
Cash
6.8B

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin 39.4%
Operating Margin 12.0%
Net Margin 9.6%
ROE 2.1%
ROA 1.0%
FCF Margin 8.2%

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Current Ratio
1.39x
Quick Ratio
1.01x
Debt/Equity
0.57x
Debt/Assets
0.0%
Interest Coverage
9.54x
Long-term Debt
29.6B
Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI based on publicly available SEC EDGAR filings. It does not include stock price data and should not be considered financial advice. All fundamental data is sourced from SEC public domain filings. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Data Source: SEC EDGAR | Analysis Date: 2026-05-06T10:27:38.234040 | Data as of: 2026-03-31 | Powered by Claude AI