What the changes say
- Abbott plans about $20 billion of borrowing for the Exact Sciences acquisition, making leverage and refinancing more prominent risks.
- Geopolitical and macroeconomic risks receive a standalone focus as 61% of 2025 net sales came from outside the U.S.
- Public-health-crisis risks were removed, while competitor risks now specifically include disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence.
- Acquisition, intellectual-property, and investment-related disclosures were refined rather than fundamentally expanded.
What changed since the prior 10-K
New
- NewBusiness and Operational Risks
Abbott will incur additional indebtedness in connection with the Exact Sciences acquisition, which could adversely affect its business, including decreasing its business flexibility
Funding the Exact Sciences acquisition with about $20 billion of borrowings could reduce flexibility, increase refinancing risk, weaken credit ratings, and harm profitability.
- NewLegal and Regulatory Risks
Changes in geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions could negatively affect Abbott’s business, financial condition, and results of operations
With 61% of 2025 net sales outside the U.S., tariffs, sanctions, currency movements, inflation, political instability, and other global conditions could hurt Abbott.
Dropped
- DroppedBusiness and Operational Risks
Abbott has indebtedness, which could adversely affect its business, including decreasing its business flexibility
- DroppedBusiness and Operational Risks
and economic conditions, and reducing funds available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes
- DroppedLegal and Regulatory Risks
Abbott is subject to risks related to public health crises, such as widespread outbreaks of infectious diseases, which could have a material effect on Abbott’s business, financial condition and results of operations
- DroppedLegal and Regulatory Risks
economies of affected countries, including negatively impacting economic growth, the proper functioning of financial and capital markets, inflation rates, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates
- DroppedLegal and Regulatory Risks
The international nature of Abbott’s business subjects it to additional business risks that may cause its revenue and profitability to decline
Reworded
- 50% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks
Other factors can have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s future profitability and financial condition
Adds performance of investments held by Abbott and employee benefit trusts to the factors that could affect financial condition, and specifies intangible assets.
- 31% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks
The expiration or loss of intellectual property protection and licenses may affect Abbott’s future revenues and operating earnings
Says governments may diminish intellectual-property protections and changes the potential impact wording from operating income to operating earnings.
Was: The expiration or loss of intellectual property protection and licenses may affect Abbott’s future revenues and operating income
- 22% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks
New products and technological advances by Abbott’s competitors may negatively affect Abbott’s results of operations
Adds disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and explicitly links competitors’ advances to Abbott’s results of operations.
- 22% rewrittenBusiness and Operational Risks
Abbott may acquire other businesses, license rights to technologies or products, form alliances, or dispose of or spin-off businesses, which could cause it to incur significant expenses and could negatively affect profitability
Clarifies that acquisition benefits may arrive later than expected, while retaining integration, investment, debt, and contingent-liability risks.
All 20 risk factors
Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.
Business and Operational Risks
- 01Disruptions to Abbott’s global supply chain, which is large and complex, could negatively affect Abbott’s results of operations
- 02Abbott may acquire other businesses, license rights to technologies or products, form alliances, or dispose of or spin-off businesses, which could cause it to incur significant expenses and could negatively affect profitability22% rewritten
- 03Abbott depends on sophisticated information systems and maintains protected personal data, and a significant cybersecurity incident or other disruption affecting these information systems or protected data could have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s business, financial condition and results of operations
- 04Abbott’s research and development efforts to develop commercially successful products and technologies and its efforts to develop and maintain new business and operating models necessary to support data-driven healthcare solutions may not succeed, either of which may cause Abbott’s revenue and profitability to decline
- 05The manufacture of many of Abbott's products is a highly exacting and complex process, and if Abbott or one of its suppliers or manufacturers encounters problems manufacturing products, Abbott’s business could suffer
- 06Abbott will incur additional indebtedness in connection with the Exact Sciences acquisition, which could adversely affect its business, including decreasing its business flexibilityNew
Legal and Regulatory Risks
- 07It is costly for Abbott to comply with numerous governmental regulations and to develop compliant products and processes, and consequences for non-compliance could have a material adverse effect on Abbott's revenues, profitability, cash flows, and financial condition
- 08Laws and regulations affecting government benefit programs could impose new obligations on Abbott, require Abbott to change its business practices, and restrict its operations, which could result in a material adverse effect on Abbott's revenues, profitability, and financial condition
- 09Changes in the healthcare regulatory environment may adversely impact the demand for and price of Abbott’s products
- 10The expiration or loss of intellectual property protection and licenses may affect Abbott’s future revenues and operating earnings31% rewritten
- 11Significant safety concerns could arise for Abbott’s products, which could have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s revenues and financial condition
- 12Changes in geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions could negatively affect Abbott’s business, financial condition, and results of operationsNew
- 13Abbott is subject to cost containment efforts that could cause a reduction in future revenues and operating earnings
- 14Competitors’ intellectual property may prevent Abbott from selling its products or have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s future profitability and financial condition
- 15New products and technological advances by Abbott’s competitors may negatively affect Abbott’s results of operations22% rewritten
- 16Fluctuation in foreign currency exchange rates has adversely affected and may continue to adversely affect Abbott’s financial statements and its ability to realize projected sales and earnings
- 17Adverse changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations, both in the U.S. and internationally, could have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s effective tax rate, financial condition and results of operations
- 18Deterioration in the economic condition and credit quality of certain countries may negatively affect Abbott’s results of operations
- 19Other factors can have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s future profitability and financial condition50% rewritten
- 20CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Other Abbott Laboratories 10-Ks
- FY2024 10-K risk factors23 risks
Abbott faces heavy reliance on its global supply chain and complex international markets, with 61 percent of net sales outside the U.S. in 2024. Heavy regulatory scrutiny from the FDA and pricing pressures dominate the risk profile alongside $14.1 billion in consolidated indebtedness.
Filed Feb 21, 2025
About this page
The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview are automated and can be wrong: read Item 1A of the 10-K for the exact wording.