Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) shares came under early pressure today after the medical device maker posted third-quarter sales that missed the consensus outlook and lowered its top-line guidance for the rest of the year – despite a 50% bump to its bottom line.
Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific reported profits of $432 million, or 31¢ per share, on sales of $2.39 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, for a bottom-line gain of 52.7% on sales growth of 7.7% compared with Q3 2017.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 35¢, a penny ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $2.40 billion.
“Our strong results reflect our global team’s focused efforts to execute our category leadership strategy and advance the standard of care,” chairman & CEO Mike Mahoney said in prepared remarks. “Through internal research and tuck-in acquisitions, we continue to bring meaningful innovations to market, enabling our customers to deliver life-changing care to millions of patients around the world.”
Boston narrowed its earnings outlook for 2018, saying it now expects to put up full-year adjusted EPS of $1.38 to $1.40 per share, compared with $1.37 to $1.41 previously. The company lowered its sales forecast to $9.79 billion to $9.83 billion from $9.80 to $9.88 billion previously.
Fourth-quarter adjusted EPS are pegged at 30¢ to 32¢ on sales of $2.52 billion to $2.57 billion; The Street is looking for adjusted EPS of 36¢ on sales of $2.58 billion.
The news sent BSX shares down -3.1% to $34.90 apiece today in pre-market trading.
