Abbott has established a global leadership position in rapid testing, including a supply capacity of more than 100 million tests per month. With me today are Robert Ford, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Bob Funck, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. And that's super important, especially when you're looking at transcatheter therapies. Factors, to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our base business has done very well. The global supply chains have not been able to keep up with strong demand out there. All the signs that Im seeing show that well have a great opportunity here to establish Amulet as another product in the category. We did a full market release at the end of June. Our next question comes from Matt Miksic from Credit Suisse. We have visibility to the pipeline of patients. A portion of that spend is a little bit more discretionary on the SG&A side and well be looking at that. And like I said, the COVID piece is really just one where we're going to have to go quarter-by-quarter and update and roll our forecast every quarter. Sure. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Now with two months left in the year, we see adjusted EBITDA for 2022 landing towards . Thank you. We did a full market release at the end of June. During the quarter, as the Delta variant spread and COVID cases surged, particularly in the US, demand for testing increased significantly, most notably for rapid tests. And I think that will help get better visibility. Strong performance of Ensure, Abbott's market-leading complete and balanced nutrition brand, and Glucerna, Abbott's market-leading diabetes nutrition brand, led to global Adult Nutrition sales growth of 9.8 percent on a reported basis and 9.3 percent on an organic basis. The DoD contract, $600 million, is that assumed in Q4 or is that a fiscal '22 contributor? Thanks for that. And in the interest of time, Ill just mention them both upfront because the first ones pretty straightforward. Returns as of 11/08/2022. But -- so the comment there was more about ensuring that there wasn't a distortion, we at least understood the distortion of COVID in terms of our profiles. And then, wanted to ask about Portico and CardioMEMS. 112%. So that's one part of the factor. We started to see it kind of repick back up again towards the end of the quarter, first couple weeks. Your line is open. So, Robert, Id love to get your sense of where you think we are here in fourth quarter and heading into 2022 and any early thoughts you could give us on sort of how to think about the progression of COVID testing sales and the recovery and durability of medtech volumes. Unless otherwise noted, our commentary on sales growth refers to organic sales growth, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange. When you look at the international market, Amulet's got a 50% market share. 3 Excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, Core Laboratory Diagnostics sales increased 14.1 percent and Molecular Diagnostics sales increased 33.9 percent on a reported basis in the first quarter. 1 First-quarter 2021 diluted EPS from continuing operations on a GAAP basis reflects 233.3 percent growth. That's right -- theythink these 10stocks are even better buys. Rule Breakers. But Im really excited about using the Libre platform here to be able to kind of expand even beyond diabetes. And I think we were pretty right there. I wanted to ask about just your Neuromod business, SDS as well as other deferrable procedures and can you walk through just sequential trends in the quarter, if you started to see recovery in some of your more deferrable procedures trending ahead of others and also how you're thinking about the ability to recapture deferred procedures, if the majority of recapture procedure recapture kind of occurring 4Q or staffing shortages, do some of this recovering procedure recapture flow into 2022? Your line is open. ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Oct. 20, 2021 / PRNewswire / -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2021. Moving to Established Pharmaceuticals, where sales grew more than 15%, driven by strong execution and a steady cadence of new product introductions. It's been pretty flat, I would say, in terms of kind of its trajectory, if we look at our trials and our implants, so -- but that's really something that we can't control in terms of kind of how that is going to bounce back. So even as cases have started to come down a little bit in the US, actually screening demand has increased quite a bit. So, I think that is another kind of key learning as we think about going into Q4 and thinking about going into next year also. A webcast replay of this call will be available after 11 AM Central Time today on Abbott's Investor Relations website at abbottinvestor.com. The website you have requested also may not be optimized for your specific screen size. But alone it's not enough. Sure. So that will be important to be able to drive margin expansion. So, maybe just a follow-up on some of the things you were just talking about, sort of this concept of reinvesting the proceeds of this very strong COVID business. In its second-quarter earnings press release, the company forecast full-year 2022 COVID-19 test revenue of $6.1 billion, while sales through June 2022 already amounted to $5.6 billion. And are there other areas you would look to build out around your vascular business? 2020 Tax expense on Earnings from Continuing Operations includes the recognition of approximately $80 million of net tax benefits as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years and approximately $87 million in excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation. Sure. But I'm really excited about using the Libre platform here to be able to kind of expand even beyond diabetes. Our next question comes from Josh Jennings from Cowen. The revised full year forecast is modestly higher than the estimate we provided in July due to a shift in the mix of our business and geographic income. Good morning. Reflects the net tax benefit associated with the specified items, the resolution of prior years'tax positions and excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation. And I know the team is too to be able to kind of be a real go-to full service player in the field of Structural Heart. There was a little bit of softness in Q3, but I like what were seeing in terms of recovery. And I think that was a good strategy because it allowed our team to kind of prepare for that. Can Abbott Laboratories Meet These Numbers? And I think 50% internationally is a good aspiration to have here in the US. Thanks for that. We talked about R&D investments and making sure that weve got pipeline beyond 22 and 23. I think the good news here is that we dont really need M&A to be able to support what I think is pretty top-tier performance here. And we started to pay much closer attention to understanding the channels and the platforms that are more aligned to symptomatic testing versus screening testing. And -- but we have a higher aspiration and just kind of 5 share, which is what we have in Europe. And I realize it's very early in the launch, but just would love your sort of top-down comments on how things are going and maybe any metrics you can share in terms of perhaps like the percentage of your US coronary counts that are now active with Amulet, so would love some just color there. And good morning and congrats on such solid execution. Thanks. And Ill start with Nutrition, where sales increased 9% compared to last year. As I said in the beginning, when we started this, there's definitely an opportunity to accelerate the strategy of decentralized testing because of COVID. Great. Your line is open. So in that number, I baked in some price pressure to ensure that we maintain that market leadership position as we see more market entrants come in. So I think thats the biggest kind of learning here for us as we go into Q4 and as we go into next year is that testing is going to remain an important companion here. We've had some consultants talk about potential for Abbott to add other analytes onto the platform and particularly the addition of ketone monitoring as a potential competitive advantage. I'm curious -- where are we on capacity right now and what is the demand for these testing products right now? Thanks, Robert. Strong performance in the quarter was led by double-digit growth in Rhythm Management, Structural Heart, Heart Failure and Diabetes Care. Identify stocks that meet your criteria using seven unique stock screeners. And so, we've been successful in terms of ensuring that we're able to get what we need to support the business. We always I know every time you put out a number, it becomes like the next, what is that and whats after that that. Your line is open. Today, we reported results of another very strong quarter. I think you captured pretty well all the elements there of how we look at COVID. So, I'm excited about it. So that's kind of how I see it. Thanks. I'm not going to comment on when, all I can tell you is we filed it at the end of Q2. Good morning. We like what were seeing here in terms of some pick-up, but these were pockets. So, as I mentioned, we're making investments in next-generation product. And that helps as youre looking at different anatomies and having a better fit there. Sure. While we strive to produce the best transcripts, it may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies. Shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) were up 8% on Friday, a day after the company delivered strong results for the fourth quarter of 2022. So we've got those businesses, everything we can make, we're rolling in here. So it's really going to depend here on the DoD and the Federal Government in terms of their purchasing. I'll now turn over the call to Bob to discuss our results and outlook for the year in more detail. We've historically really focused on our organic pipelines and that continues to be highly productive. I'm really pleased to see that. I mean, we did almost $1 billion of sales of Libre this quarter in the US, it's about 65%. Robert and Bob will provide opening remarks. Following their comments, well take your questions. And then, just quick follow-up on Libre. This now concludes Abbott's conference call. Our 109,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries. In Heart Failure, we announced results from the GUIDE-HF trial of our CardioMEMS System. Regarding other aspects of the P&L for the quarter, the adjusted gross margin ratio was 58.8% of sales, adjusted R&D investment was 6% of sales and adjusted SG&A expense was 25% of sales. So, I think, inflation and supply chain are really linked together. Our next question comes from Larry Biegelsen from Wells Fargo. Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $1.533 billion and other net expenses of $820 million, primarily associated with restructuring actions, certain litigation, acquisitions and other expenses. We have invested some of that cash in the organic opportunities we have, whether it's manufacturing sites here in the US for COVID, for MitraClip, for Libre. We have the call point. Foreign exchange had a favorable year-over-year impact of 1% on third quarter sales, resulting in total reported sales growth of 23.4% in the quarter. We'll have to kind of do it more on a rolling basis as we go to next year. Regarding your question on analytes, yeah, I mean, that is an area that we are intentionally looking at, which is using the platform of Libre, the manufacturing platform to be able to develop new analytes. We have a blood ketone system so that we believe it's an important aspect, especially for Type 1 and pumpers. Thank you. So I think it's a combination of kind of market expansion. Oct 20, 2021 10:29AM EDT. And so, we've been successful in terms of ensuring that we're able to get what we need to support the business. Abbott has established a global leadership position in rapid testing, including a supply capacity of more than 100 million tests per month. Weve obviously put investment into Libre both on the SG&A side. And that helps as you're looking at different anatomies and having a better fit there. Thank you. Hopefully can you just hear maybe some puts and takes or help us understand some of the puts and takes of 2022 operating margin? In the nine months of 2021, COVID-19 testing-related sales were $5.360 billion. Even as COVID case rates surged in the US and other geographies during the third quarter, strong growth in our more consumer-facing businesses, nutritionals, established pharmaceuticals and diabetes care, mitigated the modest impacts we saw from the surges in certain areas of our hospital base businesses. We got it CE Marked and feedback is that it's a very, very competitive device. So those are the drivers and the thinking there, Vijay, a little bit of pricing pressure and what are we going to see on the symptomatic testing. And I wanted to ask as well about your recent acquisition of Walk Vascular. So I'll just close here a little bit and just say, our results, we're achieving very strong growth across all of our businesses. So that growth is also being supported. And I had a follow-up. So that will be important to be able to drive margin expansion. And just one on your earlier comments, Robert, on the SG&A, looking back at historical trends of 29% to 30%, R&D at 7% of revenues, was that comment referring to fiscal '22, what the opex as a percentage of revenue should look like for your base business, and then the variable over and beyond that should be COVID, is that the right way to think about fiscal '22? ET, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Q2 2019 Earnings Call Transcript, Abbott Laboratories Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway. In other areas, that flexibility doesn't exist. Whats your reaction to some of these consensus estimates for share? Over the of last several months, we've learned that COVID vaccines, while a powerful tool, are not the lone solution needed in our global fight against this virus. Any updates just in terms of how the 3.0 on tap here, but any updates in terms of the future development trends for Libre and how you continue to maintain your competitive edge here? I was just wondering if you could provide just a little bit more detail on what youre seeing on inflation and supply chain because the headlines are obviously, theyre just constant. Hi. So, I think the combination of what we've submitted, our focus, this is a great opportunity for us in 2022 and beyond. And I'm a big believer in RCT trials and the need for them to be able to generate the clinical evidence. So, I think the combination here of the data, the fact that it is already the second RCT that we've done, a very large one also on of top of CHAMPIONS, the CHAMPIONS trial, I think this is a great opportunity here for us to the develop this market. And then, maybe Robert, to build on that, I know it's still very early in your planning process. And beyond that too, just what's your current outlook for pursuing a PE indication for the thrombectomy system? And I think that's a key aspect in the rollout. And we've got all these new product launches that I've been talking about on the cardiovascular side that require feet on the street, whether it's sales force, clinical specialists and we're funding that also. The comment was more about ensuring that you don't see that there's a drop in investment when you look at our profile in Q3. This is a hugely important segment in Structural Heart. And thats what you see maybe in this step-down here is assuming as cases decline in the US that were going to see a little bit of a decline in symptomatic testing. Great. As I always said, we're always looking, we're always studying and this was an opportunity that we saw, we think it's an attractive segment. We work closely with the surgery centers and weve got visibility to that. I'll now summarize our third quarter results before turning the call over to Bob. So, very happy with the initial signs. Our Services . Any updates just in terms of how the 3.0 on tap here, but any updates in terms of the future development trends for Libre and how you continue to maintain your competitive edge here? And I think the team here has done a really good job. Due to high call volume, call agents cannot check the status of your application. So, I think that is another kind of key learning as we think about going into Q4 and thinking about going into next year also. We launched Libre 3 in Europe. Turning to Diagnostics. Good morning. As Scott mentioned earlier, please note that all references to sales growth rates, unless otherwise noted, are on an organic basis, which is consistent with our previous guidance. And then, the question here really is going to be kind of COVID testing. And thats predominantly been in the Diagnostics and Device areas also. That's helpful. So there's a perception out there, I think, because COVID testing is maybe not permanent and hard to predict, that it's somehow less important or harder to value than the rest of your businesses. Thanks, Scott. I will say regarding the data, I mean, you saw when we released the data. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1-A, Risk. And in the first month, we've already gotten 40% of them -- of that target. Obviously, youre not heading to a hospital. And we'll obviously be rolling Libre 3 out. See tables titled "Details of Specified Items" for additional details regarding specified items. Theres always certain amount of coordination thats required there and that coordination has been fantastic. And that's what you see maybe in this step-down here is assuming as cases decline in the US that we're going to see a little bit of a decline in symptomatic testing. Thanks. And I think thats a key aspect in the rollout. Regarding your question on the key indication, yes, absolutely we know that is very important in the peripheral space. And both funds are internal organic growth and allows us to either provide some more value to shareholders through buybacks, dividends and if there's a growth vehicle out there, I think makes sense, we won't be shy for that also. Sure. And so, like others, we're seeing some increased input cost across areas of our business. And congrats on a really nice quarter. So we'll see margin expansion in that business. We saw that in Devices. So, the question is, in addition to kind of being part of the solution as you've talked about to the pandemic, maybe drill down a little bit into some of the things you were just describing, opportunities to invest behind, which ones of your growth programs do you see an opportunity to sort of dial things up and how, if at all, does this change maybe the way you think about M&A and your activity on that front? So I think the combination here of investment in the team, investment in the pipeline, in the clinical data, youre right, our kind of low risk intermediate low risk trial kind of reads out a little bit later on but its there, were investing in it. So -- but it's a pretty big range, Vijay, in terms of what the maximum is and what the minimum is. I was just wondering if you could provide just a little bit more detail on what you're seeing on inflation and supply chain because the headlines are obviously, they're just constant. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services. Its clinical profile in high risk is really strong. We got it CE Marked and feedback is that its a very, very competitive device. The other factor in the $1 billion to $1.4 billion is just pricing. Abbott said since.