• by Les Luchter , April 16, 2025

A day after Johnson & Johnson (J&J) projected that new tariffs would set it back $400 million this year, Abbott CEO Robert Ford said that tariffs would likewise cost his firm “a few hundred million dollars” -- enough, in fact, that rather than raising its 2025 earnings-per-share guidance as had been considered, Abbott merely reaffirmed the guidance as it released its Q1 earnings report Wednesday morning.

While pharmaceuticals have so far managed to escape the tariff wars, Abbott, like J&J, also has medical device and diagnostics businesses  -- and, unlike most Big Pharma firms, a continued stake in consumer products through its nutrition business.

Speaking to analysts, Ford said that U.S. and China tariffs would affect Abbott the most, starting in the third quarter.

While Abbott is looking at short-term strategies like interest rates and taxes to mitigate the tariffs, Ford stressed that long-term solutions are most important. “One thing we have learned from tariffs is they don't go away. Whatever comes stays, and it stays for a while. Look at the tariffs that went into place in 2017 -- they're still there.”

That long-term strategy involves optimizing Abbott’s network of 90 manufacturing sites around the world, Ford said. While that framework “has been in place for decades (and not) because of tariffs, it is going to serve us well when we think about more long-term planning for tariffs.” “

“We've always had a view to spread it [manufacturing]out and mitigate the risks that way.  Tariff wasn't on the list of risks, but it provides a lot of maneuverability.”

Noting that two U.S .manufacturing  plants for its transfusion diagnostic business -- costing $500 million -- are on track to start up by the end of the year, Ford said that  “a very large percent of our sales here in the U.S. are sourced from U.S .products.”

Asked, if investors should “hold out hope” for securing tariff exemptions for medical devices, Ford replied that “hope is not a strategy for us,” but added that medtech is a $650 billion to $700 billion global industry with U.S. companies accounting for over 50% of that. “So, I think it is in the interest of the U.S. to make sure that we protect the innovation, that we protect the investment in R&D. A lot of the manufacturing in med tech is mostly done in the U.S. already.”

That includes two of the six sites that make Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitors, which Ford has previously declared “the most successful medical device in history” in terms of sales dollars.

Thanks to analysts dwelling on the tariff issue, Ford ended the earnings call by noting that, contrary to the usual, analysts did not ask a single question about Libre.

But he had earlier praised the diabetes product’s performance: sales of $1.7 billion in Q1, up 21.6% year-over-year globally and over 30% in the U.S.

Ford also singled out Abbott’s nutrition products, which rose 7% YoY  to $2.15 billion, led by 8.7% global growth in adult nutrition (including Ensure and Glucerna ) and “double-digit growth in U.S pediatric nutrition -- Similac.”

Overall for the quarter, Abbott sales rose 6.9% YoY, to $10.36 billion, with nearly half of that ($4.9 billion) in medical devices.