Quality Investor

Abbott Laboratories

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ABT · NYSE · Healthcare

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) — Rank #304 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.23) · ROE 12.5% · Piotroski F-Score 6 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000001800 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide.

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It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company offers generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, hypertriglyceridemia, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon. It also provides laboratory and transfusion medicine systems in the areas of immunoassay, clinical chemistry, hematology, and transfusion serology testing; molecular diagnostics polymerase chain reaction instrument systems that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infectious agents; point of care systems; cartridges for testing blood gas, chemistry, electrolytes, coagulation, and immunoassay; rapid diagnostics lateral flow testing products; molecular point-of-care testing for HIV, SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, RSV, and strep A; cardiometabolic test systems; and drug and alcohol test. In addition, the company offers pediatric and adult nutritional products and infant formula; rhythm management, electrophysiology, heart failure, vascular, and structural heart devices for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases; diabetes care products, such as glucose and blood glucose monitoring systems; and neuromodulation devices. The company was formerly known as Abbott Alkaloidal Company and changed its name to Abbott Laboratories in 1915.

Abbott Laboratories was founded in 1888 and is based in Abbott Park, Illinois.

Industry
Medical Devices
Sector
Healthcare
State
IL
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31
Website
abbott.com

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

122,000

Industry

Medical Devices

Exchange

NYSE

12/12

Flags passed

ABT passes 12/12 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Deferred revenue growing · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.23
Return on equity
12.5%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.10
Current ratio
1.39×
Net cash
-$25.66B

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
1.5%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
5.7%
Piotroski F-Score
6 / 9
Share dilution
0.0%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 0.23

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.23

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

10th of 12 SIC 2834 peers

Return on equity

12.5%

Gross margin

56.4%

11th of 12 SIC 2834 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

5.7%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

0.5%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

5.1%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-2.0%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

-1.8%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 13% above net income

Free cash flow

$7.39B

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

13.4%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

1.5%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $25.66B, F-Score 6/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.10

10th of 12 SIC 2834 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.39×

11th of 12 SIC 2834 peers

Quick ratio

0.84×

Net cash

-$25.66B

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

6 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

2.8 / 5

Fair
Payout ratio
63.1%2/5 Fair
FCF coverage
1.80×3/5 Good
Dividend growth streak
10 yr5/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 1.10 · IC N/A1/5 Weak

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

4.0 / 5

Strong
Share count trend
0.0%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
10 yr5/5 Strong
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
2.5%4/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Capital Return
Op. Leverage
Value
Decline

Price History

ABT-10.7% · -2.2% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR