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⚠ Platforms That Become ObsoleteLow threat

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) — threat to the moat

Abbott's Molecular sales were $442 million in 2019 and $517 million in 2025; an installed platform does not guarantee growth.

An installed platform protects its owner only until the next generation arrives. Abbott's own filing says some Diagnostics products "can be subject to rapid product obsolescence or regulatory changes"1.

Abbott Point of Care sales ($M)55020175612019516202056520236062025Abbott Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2021, FY2023 and FY2025, product-line sales
The steady small line.

Molecular is the example inside Abbott. Its sales were $442 million in 20192 and $517 million in 20253, so six years of investment and a pandemic produced little lasting growth in the installed base.

The risk spreads beyond the small lines. Diagnostics carried $15.0 billion of goodwill at 30 June 20264, much of it from Alere, bought in October 2017 for about $4.5 billion5, and now from Exact Sciences. Goodwill assumes the platforms bought will keep earning.

Abbott's general risk factors say the same of its whole portfolio: competitors' products may have "superior performance features"6, and disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence, may change how care is delivered7.

Alere is the test case. Abbott paid $51.00 a share in cash for it in October 2017, about $4.5 billion, and also took on about $3.0 billion of Alere's debt and about $0.7 billion of preferred stock8. Alere brought rapid testing, and Rapid Diagnostics, which sold $10,061 million in 2022, was down to $2,454 million by 2025910. A platform bought at one moment in a market can be worth much less at the next.

The signal to watch is an impairment. A goodwill or intangible write-down in Diagnostics would be Abbott's own admission that a platform it bought has been overtaken.

References
  1. ReportedAbbott's own filing says some Diagnostics products "can be subject to rapid product obsolescence or regulatory changes".
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - Item 1 and MD&A for Diagnostic Products: Core Laboratory, Rapid, Molecular and Point of Care, COVID-19 testing and China. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIts sales were $442 million in 2019 and $517 million in 2025, so six years of investment and a pandemic produced little lasting growth in the installed base.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2019 - the four reportable segments with Diabetes Care folded into Medical Devices from the fourth quarter of 2019 and 2017-2018 recast, product-line sales for 2017-2019, net earnings and EPS for 2017-2019 including the 2017 tax reform charge, and the balance sheet at 31 December 2019. — FY2019 · publ. February 2020 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIts sales were $442 million in 2019 and $517 million in 2025, so six years of investment and a pandemic produced little lasting growth in the installed base.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - Item 1 business and the segment note: the four segments, sales and operating earnings, employees, manufacturing sites, customers and geography. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedDiagnostics carried $15.0 billion of goodwill at 30 June 2026, much of it from Alere, bought in October 2017 for about $4.5 billion, and now from Exact Sciences.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 - segment sales and operating earnings, the Exact Sciences acquisition and purchase-price allocation, the $20.0 billion of notes, remaining performance obligations, goodwill by segment, expected amortization, legal reserves and the NEC litigation, and the balance sheet at 30 June 2026 - the Exact Sciences acquisition, purchase-price allocation, goodwill by segment and expected amortization. — Q2 2026 · publ. 28 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedDiagnostics carried $15.0 billion of goodwill at 30 June 2026, much of it from Alere, bought in October 2017 for about $4.5 billion, and now from Exact Sciences.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2017 - the St. Jude Medical acquisition (closed 4 January 2017, about $23.6 billion), the Alere acquisition (3 October 2017, about $4.5 billion), the sale of Abbott Medical Optics to Johnson & Johnson for $4.325 billion, net sales and earnings for 2015-2017, the 84.2% 2017 tax rate and the balance sheet at 31 December 2017. — FY2017 · publ. February 2018 · source ↗
  6. ReportedAbbott's general risk factors say the same of its whole portfolio: competitors' products may have "superior performance features", and disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence, may change how care is delivered.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - Item 1A risk factors, competition, regulation and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedAbbott's general risk factors say the same of its whole portfolio: competitors' products may have "superior performance features", and disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence, may change how care is delivered.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - Item 1A risk factors, competition, regulation and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedAbbott paid $51.00 a share in cash for it in October 2017, about $4.5 billion, and also took on about $3.0 billion of Alere's debt and about $0.7 billion of preferred stock.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2017 - the St. Jude Medical acquisition (closed 4 January 2017, about $23.6 billion), the Alere acquisition (3 October 2017, about $4.5 billion), the sale of Abbott Medical Optics to Johnson & Johnson for $4.325 billion, net sales and earnings for 2015-2017, the 84.2% 2017 tax rate and the balance sheet at 31 December 2017. — FY2017 · publ. February 2018 · source ↗
  9. ReportedAlere brought rapid testing, and Rapid Diagnostics, which sold $10,061 million in 2022, was down to $2,454 million by 2025.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2023 - segment results for 2021-2023 restated for the move of Acelis Connected Health to Medical Devices, product-line sales for 2021-2023, Rapid Diagnostics' fall in 2023, COVID-19 testing as 17.8% and 19.2% of sales in 2021 and 2022, and the balance sheet at 31 December 2023. — FY2023 · publ. February 2024 · source ↗
  10. ReportedAlere brought rapid testing, and Rapid Diagnostics, which sold $10,061 million in 2022, was down to $2,454 million by 2025.
    Abbott Laboratories Form 10-K for 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - Item 1 and MD&A for Diagnostic Products: Core Laboratory, Rapid, Molecular and Point of Care, COVID-19 testing and China. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 6, 2026