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Abbott makes medical devices, diagnostic tests, nutrition drinks, and generic medicines that hospitals and everyday people use around the world.
Abbott Laboratories is a health care company with four big engines. It sells medical devices (things like heart stents and glucose monitors), diagnostic tests (the machines and kits that check blood and detect viruses), nutrition products (baby formula and adult shakes like Ensure), and generic medicines, mostly in emerging markets. So it is not one business — it is really four different businesses under one roof, and they sell to hospitals, doctors, labs, and regular shoppers in stores.
The fastest-growing and most exciting piece is medical devices, and the star there is a tiny glucose sensor called FreeStyle Libre. Instead of pricking your finger, a diabetic wears a small disc on their arm, and a phone reads their sugar levels in real time. Think of it as a continuous health tracker, but for blood sugar instead of steps. It has become a huge seller and now drives a big chunk of the company's growth. Diagnostics and nutrition are steadier, more reliable earners that bring in cash even when the economy wobbles.
Abbott was founded way back in 1888 by a Chicago doctor, and it has been a health care giant for over a century. It has bought and sold many businesses along the way, and it spun off its branded drug business (AbbVie) in 2013 to focus on devices, diagnostics, nutrition, and generics. It uses its steady cash flow to pay a rising dividend, buy back its own shares, and fund research on new products. The simple story: it makes the everyday tools of modern medicine, and it makes money by selling them to nearly every corner of the health care world.
Saved answer · last researched 11 Oct 2026