Watch Abbott Laboratories' (NYSE: ABT) earnings report to see if it can beat analyst expectations for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, October 19. Abbott Laboratories is a pharmaceuticals health care company, whose main line of business is in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad range of health care products. Its customers include wholesalers, hospitals and commercial laboratories.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Abbott Laboratories, with 11 of 19 rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts like Abbott Laboratories better than competitor Sanofi (ADR overall.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $9.65 billion in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 11.2% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $1.17 per share. Estimates range from $1.16 to $1.18.

What our community says:
 CAPS All Stars are solidly backing the stock with 97.8% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The community at large agrees with the All Stars with 96.6% granting it a rating of "outperform." Fools are keen on Abbott Laboratories and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 615 posts in the past 30 days. Abbott Laboratories has a bullish CAPS rating of five out of five stars that is about on par with the Fool community assessment.

Management:
 Abbott Laboratories' income has fallen year over year by an average of 2.4% over the past five quarters. Revenue has now gone up for three straight quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Gross Margin

59.8%

57.3%

59.4%

56.9%

Operating Margin

18.4%

14.4%

18.4%

13.6%

Net Margin

20.2%

9.6%

14.5%

10.3%

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized service. Add Abbott Laboratories now.

The Motley Fool owns shares of Abbott Laboratories. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Abbott Laboratories.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.