What happened

Shares of medical devices manufacturer Medtronic (MDT -1.12%) are up a strong 3.8% in 3:08 p.m. EDT trading Tuesday after reporting a sizable earnings beat this morning.

Expected to report $1.32 per share in pro forma profit on sales of $7.9 billion, Medtronic instead reported $1.41 per share in profit and sales of just under $8 billion.  

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So what

Medtronic's revenues surged 23% in the fiscal first quarter of 2022, with sales growing in all four of the company's main business divisions, from diabetes (sales up a modest 1.8% year over year) all the way through medical surgical sales, which boomed up 28.9%. The story on earnings, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated.

On the down side, when calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), earnings didn't quite measure up to the pro forma number that Wall Street fixated on. Actual GAAP profits were only $0.56 per share. On the positive side, however, $0.56 was still 56% better than the $0.36 per share that Medtronic earned in last year's fiscal Q1.  

Now what

Topping off the good news, Medtronic held its revenue guidance for this full fiscal year steady, while raising its guidance for the profits it expects to earn on that revenue. Sales for the year are expected to grow 9% organically (i.e., in addition to any gains from acquisitions). Profits -- to be clear, pro forma profits -- will range from $5.65 per share to $5.75 per share.

Profits anticipated to be at the midpoint of that range mean Medtronic sees itself as on track to beat consensus estimates for full-year fiscal 2022 earnings of $5.69 per share.