As of this writing, shares of Abbott Laboratories had declined 0.02% to $43.40 per share, while Hershey shares were down by 2.7% to $104.99 per share
Abbott Laboratories and Hershey released their latest earnings reports before opening bell this morning. Abbott posted adjusted earnings of 71 cents per share on $5.36 billion in sales, a 5.6% improvement. Analysts had been expecting the drug maker to report earnings of 68 cents per share on $5.4 billion in revenue.
Hershey reported adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share on $2.01 billion in sales, a2.7% increase Analysts had been expecting the company to report earnings of $1.06 per share on $2.07 billion in revenue.
Key metrics from Abbott Laboratories’ earnings report
Abbott Laboratories reported net earnings of 59 cents per share or $905 million, compared to last year’s profits of 37 cents per share of $589 million. Full year adjusted earnings were $2.28 per share, while GAAP earnings were $1.49 per share for the full year.
Abbott Laboratories expects this year’s adjusted earnings to be between $2.10 and $2.20 per share. The consensus estimate is $2.18 per share. The drug maker expects GAAP earnings to be between $1.33 and $1.43 per share.
Key metrics from Hershey’s earnings report
Hershey profits of 91 cents per share or $202.5 million, compared to last year’s 82 cents per share or $186.1 million. The GAAP earnings result includes $25.1 million in charges related to business realignments.
The company said sales of its most popular brand, Reese’s, and its Hershey’s chocolate bars, saw slow sales in some markets. Also ingredients costs rose, impacting margins. Margins only rose 0.3% to 44.1%, missing Hershey’s expectations. However, the company expects stronger margins this year due to falling input costs and rising prices in the U.S.
For the current year, Hershey expects sales to increase by between 5.5% and 7.6%. Exchange rates are expected to negatively impact sales by 15. The candy maker expects earnings of between $4.30 and $4.38 per share. That’s significantly weaker than the $4.46 per share expected by analysts.
Also today, Hershey revealed plans to buy the Krave Jerky brand.
