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Abbott's CGM Growth Story Stays Intact Despite Q1 Moderation

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Key Takeaways

  • Abbott's CGM sales rose 7.5% to $2 billion in Q1, impacted by tender renewal delays and tough comparisons.
  • ABT expects CGM to return to double-digit growth in Q2, supported by market trends and innovation.
  • Abbott expanded Libre with dual glucose-ketone sensors, AI features and broader Lingo app access.

Abbott’s (ABT - Free Report) continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) business is a key driver within its Diabetes Care division, although the pace moderated in the first quarter of 2026. Sales rose 7.5% to $2 billion, reflecting a delay in the renewal process tied to an international tender, as well as a difficult comparison to the prior year related to the shelf restocking dynamics. On a promising note, management expects CGM to return to double-digit growth in the second quarter.

The Libre portfolio, Abbott’s flagship CGM franchise, is used by more than 8 million people across more than 60 countries. Looking at the broader trend, the business added more than $1 billion in sales in 2025 for the third consecutive year. Abbott pins its success in CGM to favorable underlying market fundamentals, cost and scale advantages and continued innovation, which have supported adoption across all of the various user groups.

More recently, the company broadened the portfolio with CE Mark approval for Libre Duo and Libre Duo 10 Day, described as the world's first dual glucose???ketone sensing technology for people with diabetes. The systems provide real-time visibility into glucose levels for daily diabetes management as well as rising ketones associated with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Shortly afterward, Medtronic’s Diabetes carve-out, MiniMed, expanded its agreement with Abbott to commercialize these dual glucose-ketone sensors for exclusive integration with MiniMed smart dosing systems.

Another landmark study conducted across 24 U.K. clinical sites and involving 303 participants found that people using FreeStyle Libre CGM achieved better glucose outcomes than those relying on traditional fingersticks.           

Earlier this year, Abbott introduced Libre Assist, a generative AI-powered feature within the Libre app that helps users predict how food choices affect their glucose levels and provides personalized meal guidance. In late 2025, Abbott also expanded its over-the-counter CGM and app, Lingo, to Android devices, extending access to real-time glucose data to more people.

Updates From ABT’s Industry Peers

DexCom (DXCM - Free Report) recently announced results from the CONNECT randomized controlled trial, demonstrating clinically significant benefit for all adult Type 2 non-insulin using patients regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, baseline A1C, body mass index, education level, income and insurance coverage. It also showed an additional clinically significant reduction in A1C when using Dexcom G7 with various combinations of current standards of care diabetes medication, including metformin, GLP-1s and SGLT2s.

Insulet (PODD - Free Report) announced new clinical results highlighting the next breakthroughs in tubeless Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems. Results from the STRIVE pivotal trial and the EVOLUTION 3 feasibility study showed meaningful improvements in glucose control for people with diabetes using Insulet’s future AID system — Omnipod 6 — and fully closed-loop system for type 2 diabetes.

The Zacks Rundown for ABT Stock

Over the past three months, ABT shares have plunged 19.9% compared with the industry’s 14.4% decline. 

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Abbott is trading at a forward, five-year Price/Sales (P/S) of 2.94X, lower than its median, but above the industry average.

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Here’s how estimates for Abbott’s 2026 and 2027 earnings are shaping up. 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Abbott currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).  

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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