Shares of Medtronic (MDT -1.12%) were on the rise Tuesday, following the medical device maker's release of its Q1 fiscal 2021 results earlier in the day.
For the quarter, which ended July 31, the company booked just over $6.5 billion in revenue, down 13% from the same period of fiscal 2020. Non-GAAP (adjusted) net income fell more precipitously, tumbling 51% to $836 million ($0.62 per share).
Image source: Medtronic.
Yet analysts tracking the stock were expecting far worse. On average, their estimate for revenue was $5.4 billion, and they were modeling only $0.18 in per-share, adjusted net profit.
Medtronic's declines in revenue and profitability in Q1 were significantly narrower than the steep falls the company suffered in the previous quarter. The main reason in both instances was the coronavirus pandemic, which has ramped up postponements and even cancellations of elective surgeries (resources have to be shifted to the fight against coronavirus and COVID-19, after all, and many patients are avoiding nonemergency hospitalization).
But those patients are coming back, according to the company, and as a result its prospects are improving. "Procedure volumes began to recover around the world, and we're leveraging our pipeline of innovative products to drive share gains in a number of key businesses," said CEO Geoff Martha in the press release announcing earnings.
Similar to its policy with the Q4 results release, Medtronic is not proffering any guidance for future periods. The company again cited the uncertainty caused by the pandemic as the reason for this.
In midafternoon trading on Tuesday, Medtronic's shares were trading 2.8% higher, well outpacing the gains of the S&P 500 index and many peer healthcare stocks.
